In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night
by GaDS2000
Summary: A cosmic accident brings a new superhero to Retroville, but Jimmy isn't so sure that's a good thing. Rating changed to PG just in case.
1. Part 1 Look! Up In the Sky!

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 1:

__

Who am I?

I guess that depends on whom you ask. Some people think I'm a hero. Others think I'm a loser. But if you ask most people they don't think anything about me, good or bad. It's almost as though I don't exist until I'm right in their way. I'm like the hole in the sidewalk that they have to step around, or maybe the singing bird that makes them smile that they forget about as soon as they get past.

Sometimes I think that even I'm not sure who I am.

It's always sort of been that way since my family and I came to Retroville. All I ever really wanted to do was to fit in but there was always something that always made people uncomfortable and put them off from being friends with me. If it wasn't the clothes, it was the shoes. If it wasn't the shoes, it was how I talked, or the hair…and so on and so on. When I was little I always thought that someday I might do something important and people would really like me. Or that maybe I'd become famous and everyone would want to be my friend. I think that every little kid thinks that at some time in their life. I guess I thought that most of my life, until the day I found out just what a curse that could really be.

Let me start at the beginning…

"Whose idea was it to invite the new kid along, Neutron?" Cindy asked in a not-too-subtle whisper.

Jimmy looked up from his tinkering with another of his inventions. "Mine," was all he said before resuming his work.

Cindy sighed and lay back on the grass again watching the stars slowly appear in the deeping purple of the sky overhead. She, Jimmy, Carl, Sheen, Libby, and the new kid to whom she had referred were at the top of Lookout Point not far outside the city. It was, she had to admit, a very nice view, and once the sky was fully dark they would be treated to a magnificent summer night sky. As an unseen cricket began to sing she made a mental note to herself to remember this place as somewhere to go for a special evening with someone.

"Hey! Libby!" she heard Sheen call. "Want to hear me belch the names of the constellations?"

The romantic direction of her thoughts was instantly derailed. Beside her Libby shuddered. "No," she replied as tactfully as she could. "Don't bother."

"No bother," replied Sheen, holding up a yellow and black book titled _Astronomy for Dimwits_. "Listen! Caa-a-a-ncer, Tau-au-au-rus, Li-i-i-bra – "

"I said no Sheen! I just want to look at some interstellar gas clouds, not listen to some."

"Oh, man," said Sheen dejectedly. Then he glared at Carl, who was staring at him. "What?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing," Carl answered, shrinking back. "It's just that…that guy on the book kind of looks like you."

"Hey! It does!" laughed Cindy, pointing. "I never noticed before!"

Libby looked and began laughing as well. "So it does! I guess Sheen had better be ready to sign autographs the next time he goes to the Bookstore and More." Despite, or perhaps because of, Sheen's indignant expression the two girls laughed harder than ever, joined in by Carl. After a few moments of this Libby quieted down. "What's with the new kid?" she whispered to Cindy. "Doesn't he ever smile?"  
Cindy shrugged. "I don't know," she whispered back. "I don't know much about him. All I know is that he moved into the neighborhood a couple months ago and that his name is Ernest."

"So what's he doing here?" Libby asked.

Cindy shrugged again. "Neutron invited him. I guess it's true that nerds of a feather flock together." She gave the new kid an appraising look. "He's not really that bad looking. Maybe if he combed his hair to the side instead of straight forward and didn't have his pants pulled so high up and didn't wear a long-sleeved plaid shirt buttoned all the way up and –"

"Forget it, girl," Libby yawned. "That kind of fixer-upper would take more good years than either of us have coming."

"I guess you're right," Cindy conceded, then called to Jimmy. "Hey, Nerd-tron! How much longer?"

"Almost ready," Jimmy called back. "Just adjusting the neodymium deflection plates now."

"Just what is this new invention of yours, Jimmy?" Sheen asked, wandering over.

"It's the Neutron Vacuum Tube Telemonitor," Jimmy answered proudly as he tightened one final adjustment screw. "It's the latest thing in state-of-the-art astronomical observation equipment."

Cindy gave a scornful laugh as she came over. "State-of-the-art?" she scoffed. "For your information, vacuum tubes haven't been used in nearly forty years."

"_Au contraire, mon fille incompetent_," Jimmy returned smugly. "Vacuum tubes are still superior in a number of applications such as high-powered microwave generation and audio amplification equipment. But this isn't the type of thermionic valve to which you referred. It creates a tube of vacuum in the atmosphere."

"Uh…Jimmy? Don't get mad, but…so what?" said Carl.

"Well, Carl," Jimmy explained, "astronomical observations using light gathering telescopes are extremely poor because of the constant turbulence of the atmosphere. You've noticed how things seem to shimmer on hot days or when there's a fire burning?"

"Yes. We all have," replied Libby, who had joined the group.

"Well, that's because the heat creates turbulence in the air and makes it move, causing the light to refract, or bend, back and forth. The same thing happens all the time in the atmosphere. Atmospheric turbulence makes starlight bend and make stars seem to move back and forth. That's why stars twinkle. "

Carl hung his head in disappointment. "Oh. My mom said it was because the angels were winking at me."

Libby gave Jimmy a disproving look and he looked embarrassed at inadvertently stepping on another of Carl's cherished beliefs. "Oh…well…that too, I guess." He hurried on. "But in any case, my invention clears the air out of the way, creating a vacuum tube, or tunnel, for my telescope so that there's no atmospheric distortion. As a result, we can see thing far more clearly than anything else we can get on Earth."

"Well, let's get on with it," Cindy said with undisguised impatience.

"As you wish." With a flourish Jimmy flipped a switch, causing a hum to start from the device on which he had been working, and peered through the eyepiece. "Mars should be high enough to see by now," he muttered as he adjusted some knobs. "Aha! Perfect! Behold the Red Planet of War!" he cried in triumph, stepping back.

That was enough of an invitation for Cindy. She stepped forward looked into the eyepiece that Jimmy had vacated. "I don't know why you always have to make such a big deal out of – " she began, and ended with a gasp of amazement. She had seen Mars before through other telescopes, but it had always seemed fuzzy and far away. The half-lit red orb that shone before here was so crystal clear that she involuntarily reached out with one hand to touch it. "It's…so…beautiful…" she breathed, suddenly realizing that she had been holding her breath.

"Cindy?" Jimmy asked. "You're drooling on the controls."

"What? Oh." She gave an embarrassed laugh and moved away as Jimmy wiped the switches and knobs with his handkerchief. "Sorry. I guess it's time for someone else to get a chance." She turned away quickly, wiping her mouth.

One by one the others took their turn, with each reacting much the same as Cindy. Finally only Ernest remained, but he hung back. "Your turn, Ernest," Jimmy invited.

"Well…" The boy's voice and manner reminding Cindy of a puppy that had been cruelly handled his whole life, who hoped for kinder treatment and but was unsure of finding it. As he moved uncertainly forward Cindy suddenly felt a wave of compassion.

"You'll love it, Ernest," she said brightly. "It's incredible."

Ernest gave her a surprised look, smiling hesistantly at the friendly comment. He looked into the telemonitor but did not say anything.

"What do you think?" Jimmy prodded.

"Is Mars…red?" Ernest asked in return.

"Of course." Jimmy sounded surprised by the question. "Why?"

Ernest sounded apologetic, as though he had done something wrong. "Because this is…white."

"What?" Jimmy couldn't believe his ears.

"Not 'what'," Sheen offered helpfully. "'White'."

"And…it looks like….it's getting closer," Ernest continued, still glued to the telemonitor. "Much closer. And it's coming…very…fast."

"Look out!" Carl screamed, pointing into the sky. Everyone turned to follow Carl's lead, except for Ernest who seemed mesmerized by the sight in the eyepiece. Up in the sky a blazing point of light streaked towards them, growing in size with frightening rapidity. Everyone stood paralyzed for a split second at the sight of the approaching meteor, not quite believing what they were seeing.

"Everyone down!" Jimmy yelled as he took his own advice. As he hit the ground he saw everyone else following his example. Everyone that is, except Ernest, who was still transfixed by the image in the telemonitor. For a split second he saw a vision of Ernest and the telemonitor silhouetted against the brilliant glow of the meteor. Then there was a blinding flash and deafening roar and he saw nothing else.

End of Part 1.

Author's Notes:

No doubt many people have already noticed that Sheen looks a lot like the caricature on the cover of the _(Your Subject Here) for Dummies_ books. This was probably an inside joke for the Jimmy Neutron animators, although patently unfair to Sheen.


	2. Part 2 Origins

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 2:

Jimmy struggled to piece his fragmented memory together again as he clawed his way back to consciousness. He and the others had been using his telemonitor and something had gone wrong. There was some sort of explosion…no…something else…something from above. A blinding light from the sky…yes, that was it. A meteor had fallen from the sky and struck near them, and the impact had knocked him out. Where were the others? Were they all right? He fought to sit up and found that his body had somehow become impossibly heavy for him to move. Unable to move he turned his efforts to speaking and found that by some miracle he was still about to form badly slurred words, albeit slowly and with great effort.

"'Sev'r'body 'kay?" he mumbled as loudly as he could. "Keep away… dunno what…danger…"

From a great distance he heard a voice that sounded vaguely like Sheen's. "Jimmy? Are you okay?"

Jimmy tried again. "Sheen…keep them back…maybe radiation…"

"Keep back? From what? What are you talking about?"

Through sheer force of will Jimmy forced his eyelids open and tried to bring the dim world into focus. "Meteor…impact crater. Could be…dangerous."

A face materialized in his blurred field of view. "Okay, if you say so. But there's no crater here."

Jimmy tried again to sit up and this time succeeded. "Sheen?" It was becoming easier to speak as well. "Did you say…no crater?"

"That's right, Jimmy," Sheen replied. "No crater here."

"But – the explosion. There has to be a crater," Jimmy protested, then thought of something more important. "How are everyone else?"

Sheen thought about it. "Well, Cindy and I didn't really get knocked out. We were just kind of dazed. Carl and Libby came out of it a few minutes ago."

From somewhere behind him Jimmy heard Carl moan, "My scapula!"

"But you and the new kid were out for quite a while. He's still kind of out of it, but Cindy thinks he's finally coming around as well," Sheen concluded as he helped Jimmy up. Once on his feet Jimmy looked around, bewildered. Libby and Carl appeared unharmed (apart from Libby's annoyed expression and Carl bemoaning his scapula) and Cindy was kneeling next to Ernest by the telemonitor, but as Sheen had stated there was no sign of a crater. The telemonitor appeared undamaged and there were no indications of any kind of an explosion in the area.

"I don't understand," Jimmy said as he walked over to where Ernest lay. "If there wasn't an explosion then what was it that knocked us out?"

"Well, just from past experience I'd guess your latest piece of technojunk," Cindy responded. She was cradling Ernest's head on her lap and watching him closely. "Are you all right?"

"Well, still a little shaky, but –" Jimmy began.

"I was talking to Ernest, Neutron." Cindy shook her head. "It's not always about you, you know."

Jimmy was stung by the rebuff but decided that this really wasn't the time to spar with Cindy. He felt guilty about what had happened, and even more so that anyone had been hurt. He knelt down by Ernest on the side opposite Cindy. "How are you feeling, Ernest?"

"Okay, I guess," was Ernest's reply. "I have a funny taste in my mouth. Kind of metallic."

__

Probably the after-effects of some kind of electrical shock, Jimmy thought. "I'm awful sorry about this. I don't know what could have happened. Do you feel strong enough to stand?"

"I think so." Ernest got to his feet with Cindy's and Jimmy's help. A wave of dizziness swept over him and he put an arm around Cindy to steady himself. "I guess I feel a little dizzy."

"Take it easy," Cindy cautioned. "You've been through a lot."

"I guess I have." The dizziness passed and he removed his arm, although perhaps a trifle later and a shade more slowly than necessary. He looked into her eyes and smiled gratefully. "Thanks...for everything"

"No problem," she answered, feeling somewhat flustered without knowing why. "I guess we should be getting back. We've been up here a couple hours and it's getting late."

"I think that's a good idea," agreed Jimmy. He had been watching the exchange and much like Cindy felt bothered by it without understanding the reason. "If Ernest can help me get the telemonitor into the hovercart Cindy and the others can take the backpacks and other stuff to the hovercraft."

"Sounds good," answered Cindy, moving off to join Sheen, Carl, and Libby.

"Very good," added Ernest, watching her.

"I'm really, really sorry about what happened," Jimmy apologized to Ernest as they positioned themselves on either side of the telemonitor. "This really shouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have invited you and the others along if I thought there would have been any danger."

Ernest shrugged. "It's okay. It was nice of you to ask me." He paused. "Why did you ask me?"

Jimmy gave an embarrassed laugh. "Well, I noticed the movers carrying the telescope from the van when you first moved in and I just figured that you'd be interested in astronomy."

Ernest smiled. "Yeah, I am. Not many kids seem to think science is very cool. Everywhere I've been they've thought I've been kind of a freak because of that. It's really…cool…to meet someone who doesn't. Like you. And…Cindy." He quickly changed the subject. "I guess we'd better load this before the others think we're slacking."

"I guess so. It's pretty heavy, so don't strain yourself. We can always get Sheen and Carl to help if it's too much for the two of us. And lift with your legs, not your back." Jimmy rubbed his hands together and squatted down to get a grip under the telemonitor. "Now, lift –"

"Okay," Ernest replied on the other side of the telemonitor.

Jimmy had meant to say, "Now, lift when I say 'go'," but to his amazement the telemonitor rose from the ground before he could complete his sentence or get a grip on his side. He watched with his mouth hanging open as Ernest maneuvered the heavy equipment over the bed of the hovercart and gently lowered it inside without assistance. Once completed Ernest dusted his hands.

"Done," he said. "Gee, Jimmy, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I guess lifting with your legs really does help."

Jimmy was speechless.

End of Part 2.


	3. Part 3 Ernest Play

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 3:

Ernest looked curiously at Jimmy. "Are you all right?"

Jimmy shook himself out of his state of shock. "Oh…sure. Fine." He looked around to see if anyone else had seen what had happened, but the others were still loading their personal effects into the hovercraft. _Did I really see what I thought I just saw?_ he wondered. _Ernest must be almost as strong as Coach Gruber. All I can say is that he hides it pretty well. I never would have guessed._

Ernest was still looking curiously at him. "You look kind of funny. Are you sure you're all right?"  
Jimmy dismissed the incident from his mind. After all, just because he couldn't lift the telemonitor alone didn't mean that other kids his age couldn't. "Yeah, I'm okay. I guess I might still be a little woozy from that explosion…or whatever it was." That was certainly a possibility, and definitely a good reason not to say anything to the others. The ribbing that he would get from Cindy and Libby would make his life unbearable for the next few days. Cindy's annoyed voice seemed to underscore that possibility.

"Hey, Neutron! Are we heading back or not?"

"Okay, okay, we're coming!" he called. Together he and Ernest pulled the hovercart over to the hovercraft and after securing it to the towing hitch worked out seating arrangements. Because there was room to comfortably seat only five in the hovercraft Sheen sat in the hovercart with the telemonitor, although Cindy and Libby had giggled (idiotically, Jimmy thought to himself) at Libby's suggestion that one of them sit on Ernest's lap. Ernest had blushed deeply at this and was saved from more of the girls' teasing only by Sheen's offer.

"Hey, no problem!" he said, climbing in. "Carl rode in on the way up, and if I can't ride shotgun then tail gunner is the next best thing." He sat down, straddling the telemonitor, and began making machine gun and explosion noises with his mouth.

To Ernest's obvious chagrin and Jimmy's thinly concealed annoyance the respite was short-lived. Because Carl had earned the right to sit in the front with Jimmy because he had ridden in the hovercart on the way up both of the girls sat in the back with Ernest. They immediately flanked the hapless boy and seemed determined to find out if they could make him die of embarrassment.

"You know, Libs," Cindy remarked, toying with Ernest's arm with her finger, "I think that there's a word that best describes the quiet ones."

"Honestly?" Libby straight-lined as she held on to Ernest's other arm.

"No. Ernest-ly!" And both girls laughed.

_Hyenas_, Jimmy seethed and pushed the hovercraft to just over 200 miles an hour. Fortunately the ride was a reasonably short one and they arrived in their neighborhood before Ernest could turn more than a deep crimson or the hovercraft was involved in a serious accident.

"Care to walk me home, Ernie?" Libby asked as Jimmy slowed to a more reasonably speed.

"Of course not," replied Cindy. "He lives closer to my house."

"All the more reason I need an escort," argued Libby.

"Well, maybe I could use an escort too," Cindy argued back.

_Or a muzzle_, Jimmy thought. He turned the hovercraft down a street and came to a stop in front of a dimly lit two-story house.

"Whose house is this, Jimmy?" asked Libby.

"Ernest's," Jimmy replied brightly. "I figured it would be nice to deliver everyone right to their door, it being so late and all."

"It's 8:45 PM," said Carl helpfully, holding up his watch for Jimmy to see. "See, Fernando Llama's foreleg is on the 8 and…"

"Oh, my, where _has_ the time gone?" Jimmy answered quickly. "I hope you had a good time, Ernest."

"Yeah, I sure did," Ernest replied, standing up to exit. "Thanks for asking me. It was really…cool…"

Cindy couldn't resist one more parting shot. "Well, let's do it again some time," she purred, squeezing Ernest's hand. "Next time maybe it can be a little…hotter."

At that Ernest vaulted over the side of the hovercraft, grabbing the edge of the vehicle to swing down to the sidewalk. "Well, thanks again, Jimmy. See you in school…I guess…" he called behind him as he ran down his front walk. "Really nice time…really…"

"Yeah, see you," Jimmy called back as Ernest disappeared through the front door of the house. He engaged the accelerator and the hovercraft moved further down the street. "Now what," he demanded icily, "was that all about?"

"What?" Libby asked in surprise.

"That fuss you were making over poor Ernest! You had him practically crawling under the seat!"

"We were just trying to be nice," Cindy defended.

"Nice? If you were any nicer you'd have invited him to pick out china and silver patterns!"

Cindy and Libby were speechless for a moment. Then they dissolved into helpless laughter. Finally Libby wiped the tears from her eyes and struggled for breath. "Oh, come on, Jimmy," she gasped. "Ernest is nice and all, but…"

"…but we were just trying to bring him out of his shell a bit," Cindy concluded, also breathless from laughter. "Libby and I talked about it and thought that maybe a little flirting would give him a little confidence and encourage him to meet some of the other kids at school."

Jimmy was dumbfounded. "So…none of that was serious?" he asked.

"Well…maybe a little," Cindy needled. "He's a little cute, in a nerdy sort of way. But out motives were purely honorable." She paused. "You weren't jealous, were you?"

"Jealous? Me? Oh, no, of course not. I just wanted to make sure you weren't coming on too strong for him. I mean, him being so new in the area and all. I knew what you were up to all the time." He laughed weakly. "Jealous? Not for a minute."

Although it was dark Cindy and Libby gave each other a knowing look and half-smile. "Still got it, Libs," Cindy whispered.

"Never any doubt, girl," Libby whispered back.

Jimmy delivered Carl, Sheen, Libby and Cindy back to their homes and finally parked the hovercraft and hovercart in his garage. _Good thing I didn't mention what I thought I saw_, he thought as he unhitched the hovercart. _Cindy would really think I was jealous of Ernest._ He started to turn off the garage light and go inside the house when something caught the corner of his eye and stopped him in mid-motion. Uncertain at first at what he was seeing he walked slowly to the hovercraft and stared in disbelief. In addition to his photographic memory he knew every nut, bolt, screw, and wire of the craft and knew for a fact that what he was seeing had not been there when they had left Lookout Point. When Ernest had leapt from the hovercraft he had grabbed a strut to swing to the ground. The strut was a titanium steel alloy, very light, extremely tough, and designed to provide maximum strength with a minimum of weight.

The strut Ernest had grabbed was bent and very nearly torn free of the weld. And the strut itself, where Ernest had gripped it, was crumpled like a half-empty tube of toothpaste.

Once again, Jimmy was speechless.

End of Part 3.


	4. Part 4 The Coming of Dyno Lad!

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 4:

At that moment Jimmy was not the only one who was speechless. After entering his house Ernest had paused in the entryway to consider the events of the evening. He was certain – almost – that Cindy and Libby had not been serious about what they had been telling him, but there must have been a reason for their actions. Were they trying to make the other boys jealous? Or trying to make him so uncomfortable that he would leave them alone from now on? Ernest did not know the girls very well so the possibilities were almost endless, and he spent some time mulling over a number of them. After considerable thought the only conclusion he could come to was that there was no conclusion he could come to, and so he turned to head upstairs to bed. The nearly dark house told him that his parents were not yet back from their evening out, and as was his wont when home alone he ran to take the stairs three at a time.

He cleared the entire flight in one leap.

At the top of the stairs he froze, too stunned by what had just happened to even think. He turned slowly and mechanically descended the stairs back to the first floor and at the bottom he paused, turned, and jumped. Again he found himself on the second floor landing in a single bound. Be it said that Ernest was a logical person, and he allowed himself a moment or two of cool and rational analysis before delivering his reasoned assessment of the situation.

"Wow," he said.

For the next quarter hour he performed a number of experiments and quickly learned that he now had powers that were nothing short of miraculous. The first and most obvious of his new abilities was herculean strength, and he spent nearly a minute in the garage bench-pressing the front end of his mother's car before the novelty wore off. Further testing revealed that he had gained phenomenal speed in addition to his incredible strength, and that he could drop a nickel and race to the end of the block and back to catch it before it hit the ground. The most incredible power, however, he learned quite by accident. In an attempt to learn just how high and how far he could jump he attempted to leap over his own house. He easily cleared the eaves, but his exuberance quickly turned to apprehension when he passed over the peak of the roof and continued to ascend. After some seconds of uncertainty he suddenly realized that he was no longer jumping, but flying.

Ernest recalled hearing once that fear is the purest form of excitement, and the next few minutes convinced him that it was absolutely true as hanging high in the air without any visible means of support was decidedly unnerving. With practice, however, he found that by concentrating he could move forward and back, up and down, or remain motionless in the air, with how hard he concentrated determining how fast he went. He flashed through the air, performing somersaults, loops, spins, and other aerobatics until he suddenly realized that he was in public and might be seen. Regretfully he settled back down to earth in his own backyard and thought things over.

_It's incredible_, he said to himself. _It's like I've been asleep my whole life and just woke up._ With that thought came a sudden dread that he might actually be asleep and dreaming everything, and he pinched himself to convince himself that he was actually wide awake. Reassured that he was awake he then turned to the next matter at hand. He had somehow gained fantastic powers, but what was he to do with them?

His first thoughts consisted briefly on ways to teach some classmates a lesson about pushing around the new kid in school, but to a 12-year-old with super powers the final answer was obvious. He had been given great power, and with great power must come great responsibility. He would have to conceal his abilities and adopt an identity in which he could use them to help the weak and oppressed. His first step would be to adopt a suitable name, and the next to fashion a costume that would conceal his identify.

The first step proved to be harder than he expected. At best the names that came to him seemed trite and derivative, and at worst they infringed on any number of copyrights and trademarks. Finally, just so he could get on to the next step, he selected the name Dyno Lad. It was not particularly inspired but was better than such names as Amazing Boy, Super Lad, and E-Male (the 'E' standing for Ernest).

The second step proved even harder than the first. In all the years of reading comic books featuring stylish yet gaudily clad superheroes it had never occurred to Ernest just how difficult fashioning a suitable costume could be. The well-muscled heroes with whom he was familiar wore their outfits like a supple second skin, but the best uniform that Ernest could devise from his wardrobe and some judicious super-speed tailoring fit him like the skin on a bloodhound. To further conceal his identity and provide him some protection while flying he put on his bicycle helmet and pulled the cowl of his costume over it. The costume looked much like what it actually was – an altered red sweatsuit – and the overall effect was that of a small but brightly garbed scarecrow with a gigantic tomato for a head.

In his room Ernest looked over his reflection in the mirror while striking various heroic poses and sighed. "I guess I don't really look the part yet," he admitted, "but hopefully it will be the results that will count." He thought over the various superhero origin stories he had read and considered what his next step should be. A general theme seemed to be that the superhero took an oath of some kind to help define his purpose in life. What sort of oath should he take? After a few moments of thinking he struck what he thought was a suitably determined pose and uttered the following:

"In darkest night, in brightest day,

In any place where I may stay,

Let all who'd follow evil's way

Fall to my might without delay!"

_Needs work_, he thought. _But the thought is there. Evil-doers of Retroville, beware. Dyno Lad is here to_ -

"Ernest?" a voice downstairs called.

The voice snapped Ernest out of his reverie. "Yes, Mom?"

"Did you remember to take out the trash tonight?"

"Right way, Mom," Ernest answered and began reluctantly removing his costume to comply. Evil-doers 1, Dyno Lad, 0.

End of Part 4.

Author's Note:

Comic book readers will have already noted that the title of this story is an homage to the oath of the Green Lanterns, as is Ernest's oath. There are other references to Spider-Man and Superman in this and previous chapters (such as the title of Chapter 1) and this story will be riddled with them by the time it concludes. While Superman and Spider-Man have consistently been my favorite heroes the Green Lantern oath nonetheless stand out in my mind as the best expression of the super-hero's creed:

__

In brightest day, in blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight!

Let all who worship evil's might

Beware my power – Green Lantern's light!


	5. Part 5 Cry Calamitous!

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 5:

"Look, I'll pay your way."

"Forget it, Nerd-tron. Summer is short and I have plans of my own."

It was the next day, and Jimmy, anxious to learn more about Ernest's seemingly superhuman abilities, had called to invite Ernest to see the new Jet Fusion movie with him, Carl, and Sheen. At first Ernest was hesitant, partly because he was unused to this amount of attention and partly because he was eager to learn more about his new abilities as well, but when Jimmy mentioned that Cindy and Libby were going as well he agreed to go. Jimmy then faced the daunting task of calling up the girls and getting them to go.

"I'll pay for both you and Libby," Jimmy offered.

Cindy yawned. "Nope."

"And," Jimmy continued, sounding like a game show host, "I'll throw in a large drink and popcorn for each of you."

Cindy laughed. "Save your allowance, Neutron. I hear the rates at the Heartbreak Hotel are going up." In fact neither she nor Libby had plans but she decided that it was time to start honing their skills of getting men to grovel.

It seemed to be working, as Jimmy was pleading now. "But Ernest was really hoping you'd be going."

"Ernest?" Jimmy could sense Cindy sitting up at the other end of the connection. "He said he wanted us to go?"

"Ye-e-es," Jimmy replied slowly, stretching the truth a bit. "And you and Libby did say that he should be drawn out of his shell. It wouldn't be fair to drive him back in now that he's starting to come out."

That was certainly true enough and Cindy softened a bit. "Well…"

Jimmy then played his trump card. "But…if you really can't go maybe I could get Betty Quinlan to go instead. Come to think of it, she's a big Jet Fusion fan." He paused for a few seconds as though thinking. "And she's closer to his age. Maybe she would be better company for –"

"Now wait just a minute," Cindy interjected, bristling. "If Ernest wants Libby and me along that badly then Libby and I are going. It's only fair to him, especially after what happened last night. Have your hovercraft at my place at 12:30 sharp."

__

Checkmate, Jimmy thought and was almost sorry that Cindy couldn't see his triumphant smile. "Okay."

"And don't forget – you're paying!" She ended the call and turned to Libby, who had been listening in. "What do you think, Libs?"

Libby pretended to think about it. "Let's see – free movie, free refreshments, and four guys for the two of us? Girl, what do you think I think?"

"Yep," agreed Cindy. "Score!"

True to his word Jimmy arrived in front of Cindy's house with Carl, Sheen, and Ernest at 12:30 PM. To avoid the seating issues of the day before he had extended the rear seat so that four could sit in the back comfortably. More importantly it ensured that Libby and Cindy wouldn't be alone again with Ernest, although he rationalized to himself that it was just for Ernest's sake. Sharing the seat with both Sheen and Ernest seemed to moderate Cindy and Libby a bit because while they still tended to flirt a bit they stuck mostly to relevant topics, such as the movie they were going to see.

"I just love Jet Fusion," Cindy gushed. "He's so…macho, but in a romantic sort of way, you know? I mean, it is so gallant the way he always remembers during the explosions and gunfire to save the girl from the evil villain."

"Like Ironhand?" asked Ernest, steadying his backpack on his lap.

"And Doctor Dunno," agreed Libby.

"Or Blofish," Sheen commented. "Not the first or second one that Jet killed him, but the third guy who nearly turned all the world's cable channels into reality TV programming. And make all the existing reality TV channels into infomercial channels." He shuddered at the thought.

"Or that man with the platinum pistol," offered Carl.

"Or Professor Calamitous!" Jimmy yelped, braking hard and spilling the occupants of the back seat forward into a tangle on the floor. Cindy was the first to extricate herself from the pile and vented her indignation on Jimmy.

"Where'd you learn to drive, Neutron?" she snarled as the others got themselves free and returned to their seats. "And just for your information there was never a Professor Comatose in a Jet Fusion movie."

"Calamitous," he corrected with irritation, as he pointed at something in the sky. "And not in a movie. There!"

Something in his tone made them all look. Sheen squinted, shading his eyes and saw what had alarmed Jimmy. "Look!" he cried, also pointing to a small speck that was growing steadily larger.

"Up in the sky!" Carl added as the speck grew to a small shape.

"It's a bird," Cindy remarked, unimpressed.

Libby looked doubtful as the shape continued to increase in size. "It's a plane."

"No," Jimmy insisted, as the form became unmistakable. "It's Professor Calamitous!" As the others continued to stare the figure expanded into the form of a large and menacing mechanical man that Jimmy realized was heading straight for them. "Scatter!" he cried, scrambling over the side. The advice was unnecessary as the others were already abandoning ship. They were just able to get clear before the mechanized battle suit landed on the hovercraft, crushing it and cracking the street paving from the thunderous impact. The kids backed away as the head swiveled back and forth, seeking its objective. Suddenly it stopped and a coldly metallic yet annoying voice issued from somewhere inside.

"So, Neutron," it said. "We meet again at…umm...umm…" A large mechanical hand gestured helplessly as the occupant groped for the conclusion to its statement.

"'The break of day'?" suggested Carl.

"'Third and Main'?" offered Sheen, pointing at a nearby street sign.

"No!" the voice responded angrily, and continued struggling for the word. The mechanical form writhed in torment from the effort. "Umm…umm…"

"'Last'," said Jimmy attempting to put some distance between himself and the threatening mechanism. He bumped against Cindy, who was staring in disbelief, and instinctively put himself between her and the danger.

"Yes! We meet again at last!" The figure turned in triumph and continued to advance.

"I thought I'd put you in prison, Professor Calamitous," Jimmy sneered in defiance.

"Thanks to you, I did spend the last few months there. While it wasn't a particularly happy stay I'm happy to say that it gave me some time to think of a suitable form of revenge." A mechanical hand shot forward to seize Jimmy and Cindy, but Jimmy managed to shove Cindy away just before the steel hand closed on him.

"Jimmy!" she cried as Calamitous held the boy in a metal fist fifteen feet in the air. The head swivelled to fix her with its inhuman gaze and moved in on her.

"Leave her alone, Calamitous!" Jimmy warned, beating futilely against the mechanical grip that held him. Calamitous ignored the empty threat and reached for Cindy with his free hand. A second later she also was struggling uselessly in the machine's other fist.

"Well, well," Calamitous gloated. "This is better than I…umm…umm…"

"'Deserved'?" Cindy completed angrily.

"'Planned'," corrected Jimmy, also irritated.

"Yes! Planned! Now I have both you and your girlfriend." He gave them a sinister chuckle.

This enraged Cindy even more than before, if possible. The inevitable crowd had begun to form and to her horror and embarrassment she recognized a number of her schoolmates among the onlookers. "I'm not his girlfriend!" she yelled angrily. "Why is it that every psycho who sees me with Neutron says that?"

Calamitous paused to consider it.. "I'm not sure," he said thoughtfully. "I guess there's just something about you two. You seem to go together like ham and…umm…umm…"

"Eggs?" someone down below called.

"Beans?" another shouted.

"Rye?" suggested a third voice.

"All good choices!" Calamitous pronounced. "But now, Jimmy Neutron, prepare to be…umm…umm…" When no responses came he paused for a second. "Large word, starts with an 'A'," he prompted the crowd.

"'Adopted'?" Cindy recognized the voice as Carl's and groaned.

"'Aerobicized'?" That could only have been Sheen.

"'Annihilated'," Jimmy completed, still defiant. "You won't get away with this, Professor. I've beaten both you and your battle suit before, and I can do it again."

"Oh, I don't think so," his enemy replied. "I can't fail this time. You see, this time I made quite sure to put in…a bathroom. And it works quite well. I've used it a number of times just today." He laughed evilly while Cindy just gave Jimmy a questioning look.

"Long story," was all Jimmy could say.

"With a short and messy ending." The voice paused, either for dramatic effect or because Calamitous couldn't think of how to finish the thought. Finally he said simply, "Good-bye, Jimmy Neutron."

What happened next happened so fast that Jimmy wasn't completely sure of the exact events. All he could recall later was a red blur that shot past him and struck the head of the suit with so much force that it spun around several times before finally slowing to a stop. The blur swept around the mechanical monster and alit on the street in front of it, standing there imposingly with arms akimbo.

"This looks like a job," the crimson figure intoned, "for Dyno Lad."

End of Part 5.


	6. Part 6 The Secret Revealed

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 6:

The metal monstrosity paused at the sudden and unexpected appearance of Dyno Lad. For a second it paused as thought thinking, and then spoke. "I'm sorry, but have we ever…umm…umm…" Once again Calamitous struggled to complete his thought.

"'Shared drinks on the veranda'?" Sheen suggested.

"'Danced with the devil in the pale moonlight'?" offered Carl.

"No! Umm…umm…" Calamitous faltered.

"'Met before'?" guessed Ernest.

"Yes! That one! Have we ever met before?"

Ernest considered it. "No. I don't think so."

"Then this must be none of your business," the irritating voice replied as a huge mechanical foot came down towards Ernest with terrifying swiftness. As fast as the move was, however, Dyno Lad was even faster. Almost faster than the eye could follow he zipped past the foot, and as the massive metal foot shattered the street he wound up and struck the mechanical appendage from behind with all his might. The foot and leg to which it was attached flew up from under Calamitous' machine and the huge contraption, its balance lost, fell over backwards and struck the ground with a deafening crash. The crowd of onlookers cheered and the spontaneous applause made Ernest's head swim. A sudden shout quickly brought him back to his senses.

"Hey! Hero boy! You want to remember that we're still here as well?" Ernest looked at Cindy who was still firmly in the metal monster's grip. "No pressure or anything, but do you suppose you could get us out before you start knocking this thing around like that?"

That stumped Ernest. In most of the comics he had read the hero simply used brute force to smash whatever villain was facing him, but the subject of hostages was something that had never been covered. Calamitous seemed to sense Ernest's indecision, for as his machine clambered back to its feet he said, "Well, well…in something of a quandary are we?" He moved Cindy and Jimmy up and down slightly as if getting the heft of his prisoners. "It seems that as long as my hands are full, your hands are…umm…umm…"

"'The devil's tools'?" someone in the crowd called out.

"'Like blades of steel'?" another suggested.

"'Tied'," replied Ernest grimly.

"Exactly! Tied! But I admit that it is a little unsporting to keep you at a disadvantage by holding hostages like this. Perhaps I really should give you a chance." Calamitous paused as though weighing his options. "I'll tell you what. I've always wanted to learn juggling." The giant arms moved as though getting ready to toss both hapless captives into the air. "I suppose now is as good a time as any. "

"No!" shrieked Cindy.

"You fiend!" shouted Jimmy.

Despite his newfound powers Ernest had never felt so powerless. If Calamitous did toss them into the air, was he fast enough to catch them both before they either fell to the ground or Calamitous attacked him? And if he did catch them, could he protect both himself and them from any attack that the evil professor launched? Ernest began to feel the terrible weights of responsibility and decision settle on him. If only Cindy and Jimmy were free he was sure that he could defeat Calamitous' terrible invention. But how could he free them? Calamitous paused, savoring his advantage.

"What's he doing?" Cindy called to Jimmy in frustration.

"As long as Calamitous is inside and we're his prisoners there's nothing he can do," Jimmy answered. "He know that Calamitous can crush us like a couple grapes if Dyno Lad tries to take this contraption down."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Cindy's voice was desperate.

Jimmy only answer was to close his eyes. _Come on_, he told himself. _Think. Think! Think!_

_No pressure or anything…_

With a short and messy ending…

_You see, this time I made quite sure to put in…a bathroom…_

"Brain blast!" he cried. Twisting around as far as he could go he strained to get a look at the back of Calamitous' machine. After a few seconds he spotted what he was searching for – a small vertical pipe extending from the metal surface. He twisted back around again and called down. "Dyno Lad! Get a pressurized fire extinguisher up here! A big one!"

Startled, Ernest looked up. _A fire extinguisher?_ he thought. _What for?_ Jimmy, sensing his bewilderment, merely nodded urgently. Rather than waste time asking questions he nodded back and sped off in a crimson blur. Calamitous chortled wickedly at his nemesis' abrupt departure.

"Now that that's over," he began, "we can get back to –"

He was cut off by the sudden reappearance of Dyno Lad, who was carrying the large fire extinuisher that Jimmy had requested. "Now what?" he asked Jimmy.

"Fasten the nozzle of the extinguisher over that metal pipe on the back of this thing," Jimmy instructed. "And then discharge the extinguisher." Ernest sped to comply as Calamitous finally reacted to the situation.

"Just what do you think you're…umm…umm…" he stammered.

"Yes, Neutron, what's going on?" Cindy demanded.

"That pipe on the back is the vent for Calamitous' internal septic tank," Jimmy explained. "When Dyno Lad fires the extinguisher it will pressurize the tank and force the contents back up into the –"

Cindy suddenly realized what Jimmy was talking about. "Eww!" was all she could say as a hissing noise informed her that Dyno Lad had activated the extinguisher. "Too much information!"

"Hey, you asked!" was Jimmy's defensive response. "In any case, I'd say that in about five seconds the interior of this thing will be completely untenable."

He had scarcely finished speaking when there was a sudden rumble from deep inside the giant machine. Less than a second later Calamitous let out a scream of horror as his machine released Jimmy and Cindy and began to stumble blindly around. While Jimmy and Cindy were still in the air Ernest swooped down and caught them, depositing them gently on the ground. Once he was sure they were safe he squared his shoulders and clenched one fist. "And now," he announced grimly, "it's time to take care of some unfinished business."

"Don't bother," said Jimmy easily. "If I'm not mistaken Calamitous will be out any second now."

"Oh!" they could hear the professor shrieking. "This is – it's disgusting – the smell is - I can't – let me out of here!" With a hiss of escaping pressure the chest plastron of the mechanical device and Calamitous emerged to descend on the loading platform. He was much as Jimmy remembered him, except that his clothes were heavily spattered with some foul-smelling substance that Cindy didn't care to identify. The police quickly rushed up to take the villain into custody but slowed as they caught a whiff of him.

"All right, Lou and Eddie," the police chief instructed two of the officers, holding his noise. "Take him away."

"Not in my car, Chief," said one of the officers.

"Fighting crime is a dirty business, Lou."

"Not that dirty," Lou responded.

Eventually the fire department was called in to hose down Professor Calamitous so that he could be handcuffed and transported to prison. As he was being escorted away Sheen called, "Hey, Professor! Does Beautiful Gorgeous ever mention me? You know, a handsome Hispanic fellow, 22 years old but who looks considerably younger and more handsome than his years? Could you tell her that I'm still waiting for her and counting the seconds until we're together again?" He caught Libby's icy stare and spread his hands innocently. "What? She's just a friend." As Libby shook her head in disgust and turned away Sheen pointed to her and mouthed to Calamitous, "She's just a friend."

Calamitous, however, had little to say except to Ernest. "Well, Dyno Lad," he snarled. "Trust me when I say you've made a very dangerous…umm…umm…"

"'Career choice'?" suggested Lou, who had Calamitous by one arm.

"'High-speed manuever'?" proposed Eddie, who was holding Calamitous' other arm.

"'Enemy'?" answered Ernest.

"Yes! The third one," Calamitous retorted. "I'll be back very soon. They won't keep me in prison long."

"No doubt," replied Cindy with a smirk. "I think you've clearly demonstrated to everyone that you're a man of great effluence." She and the others nearby laughed as Calamitous snarled and was led away to a police vehicle. After Calamitous was gone Cindy turned to Ernest. "I just wanted to thank you," she said, suddenly feeling very awkward and shy, "for saving my life."

Ernest smiled. "No need for thanks, miss. All in a day's work."

Cindy smiled back. "You still deserve it. Without you, Jimmy and I could have been killed. Right, Jimmy?" There was no answer. "Jimmy?" She looked around and was surprised to see that Jimmy was not there. "Now where could he have gone?" she asked with considerable annoyance.

"Maybe he's checking out the hovercraft," suggested Carl. "It sort of got flattened when Professor Calamitous' robot landed on it."

"Maybe," Cindy said. "But it's awfully rude for him to not thank Dyno Lad for all he did."

In fact Jimmy was not at the ruins of his hovercraft. He was instead examining Professor Calamitous' mechanical construct. Of particular interest to him was the septic vent pipe and fire extinguisher nozzle that had been crimped together by Dyno Lad's extraordinary strength, crushed like a half-empty tube of toothpaste.

"Ernest," he said softly.

End of Part 6.


	7. Part 7 Dark Truths

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 7:

After Calamitous' defeat Dyno Lad gave the admiring crowd a few polite comments and a heroic wave of his hand and then sped away too swiftly for any eye to follow. A few moments later Ernest emerged from the crowd, adding his share of _oohs_ and _ahs_ to the excited buzzing and pretending that he had been with the others the entire time. Cindy and Libby seemed particularly impressed.

"Did you ever see anything so heroic?" Cindy sighed.

"Or do dreamy?" added Libby. "I'll bet under that watermelon-sized cowl he's really cute." Ernest smiled to himself at that.

"Oh, big deal," Sheen said jealously. "I bet I could be a better superhero than him."

"Oh, yeah, right," Libby laughed scornfully. "What could you do better?"

"Well, for one thing, I could pick a better name," Sheen retorted. "What kind of name is 'Dyno Lad'? It sounds like someone out of a caveman movie!"

"Speaking of movies," Jimmy quickly interjected before Sheen and Libby could get into a fight, "I'm afraid the hovercraft is shot. We won't be able to make it to 'Tomorrow Never Says Never Again' after all."

Cindy sounded incredulous. "A movie? Get real, Nerd-tron. Who wants to see a make-believe hero when you've seen the real thing?"

Jimmy almost let slip that Jet Fusion really was a top agent for the Big Top Secret Organization, and not just an actor playing one, but caught himself in time. "Yeah, okay, if you say so," he said, walking towards the ruin of his hovercraft. "I really don't see what the big deal was."

He had apparently struck a nerve, because both Cindy and Libby turned on him with the fabled wrath of an offended female. "Hello!" Cindy snapped. "He saved your life, Neutron!"

"And heroically defeated Dr. Calamitous' battle machine single-handed!" Libby added angrily.

"He made a toilet back up!" Jimmy shot back. "And that was my idea anyway!"

"Here we go again," Cindy sneered. "You just have to hog the glory, don't you? Heaven forbid that anyone else take the limelight from the great Jimmy Neutron for even a second."

"That's right," Libby agreed.

"That's not true!"

"Whatever, Neutron," Cindy called over her shoulder as she and Libby walked away. "Even if you had the abilities, Dyno Lad is someone you could never hope to be. I'll bet that you couldn't recognize a real hero if he were standing here in front of you." At this Ernest fidgeted nervously and edged a little further away from Jimmy, who was glowering after the girls..

"Could so," Jimmy muttered darkly.

Without motorized transportation the six were forced to walk back home. Fortunately it wasn't far and a short time after that, with the aid of Goddard and his hypercube, Jimmy was in his lab attempting to sort out both the shattered remains of his hovercraft and the situation with Ernest.

"I don't understand it, Goddard," Jimmy remarked as he removed the engine manifold from the debris. "Somehow whatever happened last night gave Ernest superpowers. But what? And how?" He sighed heavily and began to detach the seats from the crushed interior of the hovercraft. "And why was just Ernest affected? We were all there."

He succeeded in getting the first seat out and stopped for a moment to pick something that looked like a laser pointer off the floor. "Hey, my 3-D holocorder. I was wondering what happened to this. I should really clean under the seats more often." He pocketed the tiny device and continued to disassemble the wrecked craft while musing over the origins of Dyno Lad. "Everyone was together when that explosion happened, so –"

He suddenly paused. "No, we weren't all together. Ernest was looking through the telemonitor and I was nearby at the controls, and the others were further away. Ernest was knocked out the longest, I was out almost as long, and the others weren't affected quite as much. It wasn't just a freak incident. Whatever caused that explosion last night must have had something to do with the telemonitor."

Excited at the prospect of solving the mystery Jimmy dropped the screwdriver he had been using and rushed over to the telemonitor to examine it. Although everything seemed normal a few minutes of inspection confirmed that things were not as they should be. The night before he had adjusted the device to pierce the couple hundred miles of distorting atmosphere so that they could have a clear view of the heavens. The controls were now set so that the hypermagnetic fields used to create the vacuum tube extended beyond that – far enough to reach the Van Allen radiation belts trapped in the Earth's magnetic field.

It must have happened when he had wiped the controls after Cindy had looked through the device, Jimmy suddenly realized. When the intense magnetic tube had extended into the radiation belts it must have been like poking a plastic straw into a pouch of fruit drink. The tube had provided a tunnel for the trapped radioactive particles to channel down to the telemonitor. The bright light had been the effect of the particles reacting with the hypermagnetic fields, much like an aurora borealis. When the radiation had reached the telemonitor the machine's built-in safeties had shut the machine down, causing the vacuum tube to collapse. The noise had not been the result of an explosion, but an implosion as air had rushed in to fill the vacuum column. Ernest, standing at the telemonitor, had received the full brunt of the radiation. If the telemonitor's safeties had not kicked in the stream of radiation through the vacuum tube could have been lethal not just to Ernest, but to them all.

Okay, everything seemed to fit. But how did the radiation give Ernest superpowers? For the next several hours Jimmy pored over hundreds of articles on physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, nuclear medicine, and similar topics while Vox ran innumerable simulations using the data Jimmy collected. At last, after a dozen checks and re-checks of his final result Jimmy sat back and rubbed his tired eyes, wondering how he could tell Ernest what he had discovered.

Ernest's superpowers hadn't simply made him a superhero.

They were killing him.

End of Part 7.


	8. Part 8 We Interrupt Our Program

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 8:

Jimmy agonized over the situation. "If I just tell him that he has to give up the greatest thing that ever happened to him because it's killing him, he'd probably never believe me. But if I don't do anything, I'd be responsible for whatever happened to him." Jimmy turned to his faithful companion. "Goddard! Options!"

Goddard flipped open the cover to his video screen, showing the message:

EXPOSE HIS SECRET TO THE WORLD

Jimmy shook his head. "That's no good, Goddard. It would look like I was jealous, just like Cindy and Libby said. And he'd probably keep using his powers anyway. Next."

The next suggestion read:

SEND HIM AN ANONYMOUS MESSAGE

Jimmy sighed. "I'm not some frivolous, 11-year-old blond girl across the street with a crush on someone. Next."

Goddard's final suggestion was:

DISCUSS IT WITH A PARENT OR TEACHER

Jimmy thought it over. "That could work. I could just give the basic facts and keep the names and details a secret. Great suggestion, Goddard. Let's go find Mom."

As luck would have it, however, Jimmy ran into his father first. Hugh Neutron was in the living room polishing one of his prized duck decoys and singing one of his many duck-themed ditties as he worked. Jimmy tried to exit the room but before he could escape Hugh spotted him and called out. "Hey there, Jim-Jam. What do you think? It's a Vermont Mahogany Canvasback."

"It's great, Dad," Jimmy replied listlessly.

Something in Jimmy's tone caused his father to look closely at him. "Is everything all right, Son? I mean, kind of like the man who ate the pillow you seem a little down in the mouth."

"Fine. Well, mostly." Jimmy paused and decided that he might was well ask his father for some guidance. "You see, there's something important that I need to tell someone and…well, I'm not exactly sure how to say it."

At first Hugh looked somewhat confused, but then his face cleared as he thought that he comprehended the situation. He put down the decoy and patted the couch next to him, inviting Jimmy to sit down. Jimmy did so and Hugh cleared his throat. "Well, Son, every parent knows that this day will come, but you're just never really ready when it finally does. We've tried a couple times to discuss this with you, but somehow something or other always came up – invaders from space, or military investigators, or other… delaying…type…thingies." He sighed again and began to pace back and forth in front of Jimmy. "But I suppose this is as good a time as any for… the Talk."

Jimmy sounded confused. "The Talk?"

"No, time doesn't wait for young boys and girls. They grow up and suddenly it's a whole new world for them and with no turning back." Hugh suddenly stopped pacing and faced his son. "I guess the simplest way to explain it is that…girls are like…flowers." He looked hopefully in Jimmy's face. "You know what I mean?"

Jimmy struggled to make the connection. "You only have to think about them on holidays and birthdays?"

"Exactly," his father answered, nodding in relief. Then he caught himself and said, "No, wait! That's not it at all!" He thought furiously for a minute and tried again. "They're like flowers because they look pretty and smell nice and…well, everyone should have one to make their life more…pleasant. Not that they're property, of course. They're more like pets… and they're people too and you have to treat them they way you'd want to be treated. You need to let them know that they're an important part of your life."

"You mean that they're to be admired, respected, and cherished?" Jimmy asked.

Hugh turned the idea over in his mind. "Well, not in so many words, I suppose. But the thing is that the time comes when one special girl catches your attention and you begin to feel…differently."

"I guess I don't understand."

"No, but you will some day. And it will be an amazing thing." Hugh seemed to be reminiscing. "And then the night of your wedding you'll be alone with her and look into her eyes and realize…" His voice began to tremble. "…realize that she's your wife now and…and…" The voice continued to quaver. "…that your mother won't be baking her boysencherry pie for you…" Jimmy's father broke down and began crying. "…ever again!"

Jimmy stood up, flabbergasted. _What the heck is this all about?_ he wondered. He stood there, uncertain what to do, when his mother came into the room.

"Oh, Hugh, could you –" She broke off at the sight of her weeping husband. "James Isaac Neutron, what is going on here? Did you try out another of your inventions on your father without our permission?"

"No, Mom," Jimmy replied.

"No mom!" Hugh wailed, his body wracked by violent sobs. "No more mom!"

Jimmy spread his hands innocently. "I told him that there was someone I needed to say something to but didn't know how, and he started talking about flowers and girls and wedding nights and all of a sudden he just started crying."

A knowing look came over Judy Neutron's face. "Oh. I see. He was giving you the Talk."

"Uh…I'm not sure."

"Did it confuse you and seem to have nothing to do with what you were asking about?"

"Yes." Jimmy was definite about that point. "That's for sure."

"Then it was the Talk." She sighed with relief. "This is certainly a load off my minds. I never really knew how we would ever discuss it with you, because you were always so precocious. But know that that's done, it's done."

Jimmy looked at his father who was still sobbing softly. "What about Dad?"

Jimmy's mother sounded reassuring. "Don't worry about that. Oh, Hugh…I just took a peach pie out of the oven. Would you like some?"

Hugh looked up and wiped his streaming eyes with the heel of his hand. "Does it have…cinnamon?"

"Of course."

Hugh took out his handkerchief and noisily blew his nose. "And…and does it have that criss-crossy crust?"

"Yes, it does. Just the way you like it." Jimmy's mother took his father by the arm and led him away to the kitchen, speaking soothingly. "Like you always said, 'There's no problem too wide or high that it can't be fixed with a slice of pie.'"

"That's true," Jimmy heard his father say as his parents left the room. "Thanks so much for reminding me, Sugar Booger."

Jimmy remained standing in the room just as confused as he had been before. Not knowing what else to do and unwilling to think about what his father had just discussed with him, he elected to turn on the TV set. The Ultra Lord show was in progress and he half-watched it as he considered his best course of action. As he was mulling it over the program was suddenly interrupted by a newsbreak.

"We interrupt our program in progress," the newcaster announced, "to bring you an important newsbreak. Just earlier today in Retroville a deliberate attack by well-known evil scientist Professor Finbar Calamitous was foiled by…" He suddenly looked off-camera and spoke with considerable irritation in his voice. "Is this some kind of joke? A giant robot was defeated by Diane Ladd?" There was some unintelligible mumbling in the background and the newscaster looked down at his copy sheet. "Oh. My mistake." He looked back into the camera and continued, "…foiled by a mysterious hero calling himself Dyno Lad, who exhibited amazing abilities in defeating a giant metal robot."

"Battle suit," muttered Jimmy.

"There is no information on the superhero's true identity or origin, or the reason for his mysterious appearance in our city, but a few minutes ago a call was received at this station from a person claiming to be Dyno Boy. He has stated that he fully intends to use his amazing powers for good and to protect Retroville from any villainy that may befall our fair city." Again the newscaster looked offscreen. "'Villainy that may befall our fair city'?" he asked in a disbelieving tone. Again there was some unintelligible mumbling and the newscaster shook his head. "I'm told that the preceding was a direct quote from the unknown source. In any case, we will bring you further details and any other breaking information as they become available. We now return you to the Ultra Lord show, which, in this reporter's opinion, is far more credible than this story." The screen switched back to the TV show just as the newscaster wadded up his copy sheet and vehemently tossed it off-screen.

Jimmy considered the news he had just heard. Ernest had undoubtedly been the one who had called, and he had made it clear that he intended to continue using his powers. Jimmy knew he no longer had any choice about his course of action. He had to tell Ernest everything before his Dyno Lad powers destroyed him.

End of Part 8.


	9. Part 9 The Fading of the Day

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 9:

With his mind finally made up Jimmy waited for the opportune time to confront Ernest with the terrible truth. Since Ernest had indicated that he would be protecting Retroville, Jimmy reasoned that if he waited near Ernest's house he would return sooner or later as Dyno Lad. It would be the only way fast enough for Ernest to return from whatever he might have to deal with as Dyno Lad in the farther reaches of Retroville and still reliably maintain his secret identity. The one question that troubled him was how long it would be before he would be able to catch him. Since he had no answer he could only set Goddard to scan for anything travelling over 300 miles per hour and wait near Ernest's house for his eventual return.

It was just getting dark when Goddard barked, notifying him that his scanners had detected a rapidly approaching object. Jimmy quickly confirmed that it was heading his way and not some type of aircraft, and he put aside his work on the general expansion of Fermat's Theorem to take refuge behind a tree. Moments later he heard the sound of something slicing through the air followed by a faint thudding noise from behind Ernest's house and he moved quickly to the rear of the structure. In the dim light he recognized the form of Dyno Lad, who was busy removing his costume.

"Hello, Ernest," Jimmy said.

Startled, the figure quickly pulled the cowl down over his face and turned to face him. "What's that?" Jimmy heard an unnaturally deep voice ask. "Did you say 'Ernest'? Sorry, old chum. I'm afraid you must have me confused with someone else."

Jimmy wasn't fooled for a second by the feeble pretense. "I know it's you Ernest. Unless, of course, there's some earthshaking threat that just happens to demand Dyno Lad's attention at the Parker resident at this very moment."

"I'm…I'm accepting a dinner invitation," the voice faltered.

Jimmy gestured at the dimly light house. "Right. With no one else home right now?"

The masked form hesitated for a moment before Jimmy saw the squared shoulders slump in resignation. A hand pulled back the cowl, revealing Ernest's familiar face, and Ernest smiled ruefully. "You win," he said. "How did you know it was me?"

Jimmy stared curiously at Ernest's head. "What's with the helmet?"

"Oh, that." Ernest removed the headgear and balanced it easily in one hand as he removed the rest of his Dyno Boy costume. "When I first discovered my powers I pinched myself to see if I could feel anything. I did, so I figured I might need some sort of protection – just in case I couldn't stop as fast as I could start."

"Smart move. I'm glad you're thinking about your safety."

Ernset shrugged. "Someone has to." He looked at Jimmy and smiled. "So how'd you guess?"

"A clue here and there and a little research helped me figure out what happened. I know all about your powers. Even more," he added, "than you do."

Something in Jimmy's tone made Ernest peer closely at him, as though trying to see through more than the gathering gloom. "You say that as if it were a bad thing."

"It is."

Ernest considered it. "How bad?"

"The worst." Jimmy paused to collect his thoughts before pressing on. "Last night my telemonitor accidently ruptured the Van Allen radiation belt, releasing a burst of high-energy and channeling it to Earth. You were at the telemonitor when the radiation hit, and the radiation changed you. It's causing your body to produce massive amounts of a substance called ultradrenaline. That's what's giving you your fantastic abilities." Jimmy hesitated trying to determine the best way to tell Ernest the rest.

Ernest was intelligent enough to realize the bomb had yet to fall. "So that's the good news. What's the bad?"

"The bad," Jimmy said slowly, "is that it also acts like some drugs. They don't really make people stronger, but they keep them from realizing that they're pushing themselves beyond their physical limits. With pain eliminated they can do incredible things, but it's like trying to run a go-cart on jet fuel. Eventually the engine will explode. Every time you use your powers, you're literally killing yourself." After another awkward pause Jimmy said quietly, "You have to stop being Dyno Lad."

It was too dark for Jimmy to see Ernest's expression but he could sense the other boy considering what Jimmy had said. After a long silence Ernest finally said the perhaps last thing Jimmy had expected to hear. "Okay," was all Ernest said, but his tone clearly indicated that he had no intention of stopping.

"What?"

"Look, Jimmy, you're a nice guy, but even if you're telling me the truth –"

Despite the situation Jimmy took umbrage at the remark. "_If_ I'm telling the truth? Are you saying that I'm lying?"

Ernest shifted uncomfortably. "Not exactly. All I'm saying is that maybe Cindy was right about what she said today."

Jimmy blinked. "Right? Right about what?"

"About how you always need to be the one in the spotlight."

"She said 'limelight', not 'spotlight'," Jimmy blurted out without thinking, and then mentally kicked himself for the gaffe.

Ernest nodded. "You see? You have a strong competitive streak. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but maybe you do take it too far. Maybe you are afraid that Dyno Lad will take some away some of the glory you get from being Retroville's kid celebrity. And maybe that's why you're trying to get me to stop being Dyno Lad. I mean, do I look like I'm dying? Why should I give up the best thing that ever happened to me just because of what you say?"

Jimmy was both hurt and offended at Ernest reading selfish intent into his purely selfless motives. "Because if you don't stop using your powers, you are going to die. It's not a question of 'if'. It's a matter of 'when'. Even if I weren't absolutely certain, is it worth risking your life to see if I'm right?"

Although Jimmy couldn't see Ernest's expression he recognized the sharp tone as one of dismissal. "I think I can take care of myself." There was a pause, and then Ernest asked more quietly, "What are you going to do about my secret?"

Jimmy had almost forgotten about that. "I 'm not sure. I guess it wouldn't make any difference, would it?"

There was another pause. "No. It wouldn't."

"It's not really my secret to tell. I guess that's something you'll have to reveal if the time comes."

"Thanks," Ernest responded, sounding truly grateful. "I appreciate that. Really. I guess you really are a friend."

"Yeah," Jimmy answered, turning to leave. Then he stopped and turned back. "Just promise me to think about something. You are my friend, and it was my fault that what happened to you happened. If anything bad happened to you because of that, how do you think I'd feel about it?"

With that Jimmy turned again, called for Goddard, and began heading for home. As he walked away he heard Ernest call after him, "Okay, Jimmy. I'll think abou that." There was no mistaking the tone in these words either, but this time Jimmy knew that Ernest meant what he said.

End of Part 9.

Author's Notes:

Some people may have been somewhat confused by the totally incongruous previous chapter which didn't seem to have much to do with the rest of the story. The simple truth is that I wrote it the day before Father's Day and I thought it would be nice to acknowledge the men who play such an important part in our lives. In addition, as at least one reader has noted, it also served to lighten the tone of the story somewhat, and the fun of writing Hugh Neutron gave me a much needed lift as well.

Another reader has asked whether there will be anything between Jimmy and Cindy in this story. There always is in my stories, but this one will be somewhat different and more poignant. Some will love it, and some will hate it, but everyone will have to wait to see what happens.


	10. Part 10 By Fortune Betrayed

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 10:

Over the next week Dyno Lad began to be a familiar sight in, around, and over Retroville. His appearances, though frequent, were also quite brief and he never remained longer than necessary to perform the super-task at hand, ensure that everyone involved was all right, and give a smile and wave to the crowd that gathered. Consequently he remained something of a mystery, which made him a source of great admiration to many of the Retroville boys and even greater fascination to many of the girls in Retroville. Chief among Dyno Lad's admirers were Cindy Vortex and Libby Folfax. Although they had met the young superhero only once during the encounter with Professor Calamitous, they nevertheless considered themselves experts on Dyno Lad. In comparison to their female friends and acquaintances, who had never met him at all, they were. Consequently anything that they had to say about Dyno Lad was considered incontrovertible and the pair was universally regarded with both envy and respect.

"He is so dreamy," Cindy sighed, pausing from sipping her chocolate milkshake. She and Libby had decided to stop in at the Candy Bar for a treat and had immediately been surrounded by other young customers anxious for any information about Dyno Lad.

"Even more than Hansen in _Kidz 2 Guyz_?" asked Nissa with bated breath.

"Oh, no comparison, girl," answered Libby between bites of her banana split. "Hansen might as well change his name to Hasbeen." This drew a laugh from the onlookers.

"And absolutely charming," Cindy went on.

"Ooh, I'll bet," said Sam, the owner of the Candy Bar.

"And don't be forgetting those muscles," Libby added. "Oh, yeah."

"As if," remarked Betty Quinlan dreamily.

"If my life were ever in mortal danger again…" Cindy paused and repeated the phrase for greater emphasis, "…_mortal danger_…I'd gladly face it to find myself in those arms of steel." She had not meant to imply that she had ever actually been in Dyno Lads arms, but her audience breathed a collective sigh at the thought.

Cindy and her friends were not the only ones taking an inordinate interest in Retroville's newest celebrity. Jimmy in particular carefully scrutinized the media for all mentions of Dyno Lad, searching carefully for any hints that anything might be wrong with the young superhero. Each new report put him on tenterhooks, and the absence of any bad news in each filled him with cautious hope. Perhaps, he admitted to himself, he had been wrong and his calculations were in fact in error. There was always an element of doubt to science and there might have been some factor in the radiation that had escaped his analysis. He wished that he could speak with Ernest about it, but Dyno Lad had become much more furtive in his comings and goings and there were always other people around when Jimmy saw Ernest. For the time being he watched and remained hopeful.

Had Jimmy been able to find an opportunity to discuss the matter his hope would have long since evaported. Almost from the start Ernest had noticed that his heart rate would accelerate whenever he used his powers. At first he put this phenomenon down to the exertion and the exhilaration of performing his super-feats, but as the days passed he gradually became aware that it took longer and longer for his thundering heart rate to slow and subside. Then one night he was awakened by his bed shuddering and shaking and for several seconds he thought that he was experiencing an earthquake. It was then that he realized that his heart was hammering so violently that it was shaking his whole body. He took deep, rhythmic breaths, willing himself to relax, and after about half an hour his pulse and blood pressure had dropped back down to normal. Before dropping off again, he told himself that he would talk with Jimmy the next day. As fate would have it, however, he hit "the wall" the next day, both literally and figuratively, before he could speak with Jimmy.

He awoke early that morning to a news flash on his clock radio reporting that a truck had overturned while making a turn in downtown Retroville, hopelessly blocking a busy intersection. Postponing his planned meeting with Jimmy, Ernest quickly donned his Dyno Lad costume and sped from this bedroom window at a speed almost too fast for the human eye to follow. In moments he was at the scene of the accident, and amid the cheers of the early morning commuters he righted the truck and pushed it out of the intersection. As always he made sure that no one was hurt, smiled and waved, and took off. He hadn't gone far when another emergency arose.

Although by now most citizens in Retroville were accustomed to having a superhero around that didn't stop many of them from rubbernecking. The driver of another delivery truck turned to watch Dyno Lad fly away and so failed to notice that the signals in the cleared intersection had changed. Another large truck, approaching on a side street and moving too fast to stop, sped towards a collision with the first truck. The sound of its blaring horn and shrieking brakes immediately attracted Ernest's attention. In response he sped down to avert the impending disaster, uncomfortably aware of a powerful thudding in his chest. By now an experienced superhero he positioned himself in front to the speeding truck and exerted enough force, as he judged, to stop it.

It wasn't enough. The truck slowed, but kept going.

Realizing that his efforts were not enough Ernest now summoned all his strength and pushed mightily towards one side, desperately attempting to divert the truck to one side. Tires squealed in protest, but the truck changed direction. It missed the truck passing through the intersection by inches, continued over the curb on the far corner of the intersection, and came to a stop with Ernest pinned between it and the wall of a building. With a massive effort he pushed the truck back far enough to extricate himself.

"Gee, Dyno Lad, I'm sorry," the driver told him as he exited his cab. "You cut it awful close there. I guess you didn't want to hurt me by slamming my truck to a stop, huh?"

Ernest summoned a weak smile, although he felt as though his chest would explode. "Yes. Didn't want…to hurt anyone. Are you…all right?"

The driver nodded gratefully. "Sure am, Dyno Boy. Thanks. Thanks a lot."

"No problem. Take…care…" With that Ernest rose into the sky with a grimace of pain that he hoped the cheering onlookers would mistake for a smile. Unsteadily he headed towards his neighborhood, tryng to will his heart to quiet and slow as he moved through the air. Aware that now something was unmistakably wrong he kept his eye out for a particular house. _Jimmy_, he thought dully. _Got to find Jimmy._ As he flew along, considerably slower than he was accustomed to do, he was filled with dread that he wouldn't be able to make it all the way back.

He very nearly did not. Spotting Jimmy's house from several blocks away he began to descend so that he could land near Jimmy's clubhouse in the back yard. He ended up falling with a loud thud from about 8 feet up. Stunned from the fall and too weak to move he lay there for some minutes, gasping for air. "Jimmy…" he called weakly at last, knowing that his cry was too faint for Jimmy to possibly hear. He struggled to get to the back door of the Neutron house, but after his many amazing feats as Dyno Lad he found that the effort of crawling or even sitting up was too great for him. After several feeble and completely futile attempts he lost the fight to even remain conscious, and darkness swallowed him.

End of Part 10.

Authors' Notes:

Some astute readers may have noticed that I've changed the rating of this story from 'G' to 'PG' (as well as those on my other stories). This is because there is now a zero-tolerance policy on stories rated lower than the content requires. While I personally feel that my stories are all 'G' and suitable for all ages it is possible that others may not agree and feel that the violence and life-and-death situations go beyond acceptable levels. Rather than risk being barred from the site I've re-rated everything up a grade, just in case.


	11. Part 11 When Legends End

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 11:

In Jimmy's room Goddard activated himself from sleep mode and perked up his ears. His auditory sensors, far more sensitive than the ears of any organic dog, had detected the sound of a dull impact somewhere outside and he swiveled his head back and forth as he tried to locate the source of the sound that had roused him. He filtered the sounds around the vicinity of the Neutron's house – the hum of the electrical wiring, a cheeky mouse moving stealthily through the grass near Jimmy's clubhouse, a caterpillar munching noisily on one of Judy Neutron's prized flowers, and hundreds of other background noises. As he did so he detected, quite clearly, the sound of a weak human voice calling out "Jimmy." Goddard recognized the voice as that of the boy Jimmy had met with several nights before and identified the speaker as one of Jimmy's friends, and determined that the friend was in the back yard and in trouble. With a decisive bark he dashed out of Jimmy's room and began searching the house for his master. He found Jimmy in the living room watching the latest newsbreak about Dyno Lad and barked for attention.

"Not now, boy," Jimmy said, trying to catch what the newscaster was saying.

"…but two incidents this morning at the intersection of Gate Way and Ram Drive, where a semi had overturned," the news reporter was saying. "After righting the vehicle with his incredible strength and clearing the roadway, the boy wonder then narrowly averted a second disaster by diverting another truck and preventing it from striking a second vehicle that had entered the intersection against the light. No one was injured, and once again Retroville owes a debt of gratitude to its resident champion, Dyno Lad. And now, back to _The Morning Show With Brandi and Alexander_."

"Gas planets!" muttered Jimmy, sinking back in the couch. "Still no news. Could I have been wrong?" Goddard barked, attracting Jimmy's attention. "What is it, Goddard?" Goddard gave Jimmy another bark, followed by an expectant sideways look "Is there a problem?" Goddard barked once again and then ran for the back door, followed closely by Jimmy.

Once outside Jimmy immediately spotted the unmoving form of Dyno Lad sprawled on the grass near his clubhouse and realized that his worst fears had come to pass. "Come on, Goddard!" he called, racing to the limp figure. "We have to get him into the lab!" But as he half-carried and half-dragged Ernest into his lab Jimmy wondered if that would do any good. Despite his earlier research he still had no clear idea as to what had actually happened to Ernest, nor how to reverse the effects. A more chilling idea was that the effects might not be reversible and that it might already be too late. Pushing the grim thought aside Jimmy removed Ernest's Dyno Lad costume and laid him on a table while considering what to do next. At length he decided that the only thing to do was to try to obtain more information about Ernest's physical condition.

After only a few moments of examination Jimmy's concern changed to outright alarm. Ernest, he discovered, was literally burning up. His pulse was somewhere over 200 beats per minute, his blood pressure too extreme to measure accurately, and his body temperature 110° F and climbing. His readings might have been normal enough for the average hummingbird, but for a human they would be fatal in a matter of minutes. Jimmy thought furiously as he paced back and forth. "There's no point in putting him into stasis," he said. "That would keep things from getting worse but not fix the problem or tell me anything about what's happening. Whatever is happening I have to find a way to stop it. But how?" He came to a decision. "I need to locate the source of the ultradrenaline production and find some way to shut it down. It has to be somewhere in the brain so maybe a magnetic resonance imaging scan will localize it. Goddard! Activate medical analysis subsystems! Configure for MRI!"

Obediently Goddard opened his utility compartment, extended a semicircular coil, and positioned it near Ernest's head as Jimmy activated a number of medical screens on the main video monitor. "Okay, Goddard, begin scan! Maximum resolution!" Immediately Goddard began to slowly pass the semicircular apparatus over Ernest as Jimmy watched the screen labeled "MRI" intently. On the screen false color images began to appear as Vox interpreted measurements of subatomic reactions to the electromagnetic pulses and rendered 3-dimensional images of Ernest's internal structures. After a few seconds Jimmy shook his head in frustration and despair.

"It's no good! It looks like everything in his brain has become hyperactive. There's no single neural center to concentrate on. If I try to shut everything down he'll die, and if I don't he'll die anyway." His head fell forward in defeat. "I've failed, Goddard."

Goddard, also watching the video monitor, barked. When Jimmy didn't respond he barked again, more insistently. Reluctantly Jimmy looked up at the video monitor again, and had to take a second look. Ernest's pulse, which had read 204 beats per minute, now read 193 beats per minute. His blood pressure had similarly decreased and was not at 182/130, and his temperature had dropped to a feverish but lower 106° F. As Jimmy continued to watch the readings dropped slightly more, causing him to react in baffled delight.

"I don't get it, Goddard," he confessed. "Maybe Ernest's body is recovering on its own. There's no other explanation. All we did was run an MRI and –" Suddenly a thought came to him. "Magnetic resonance imaging," he said to himself. The radiation that had given Ernest his fantastic abilities had been channeled into him by the hypermagnetic fields of Jimmy's telemonitor. When the radiation had struck him the machine's safety features has shut down the fields, but before that happened the fields might have polarized the magnetic orientations of the atoms in Ernest's body, trapping the radiation in side him. The MRI pulse, like a sharp rap to the stuck lid on a jar, might have loosened some of the atoms so that they could re-orient and permit some of the radiation to escape. There was only one way to find out.

"Goddard! Re-run MRI scan!" Jimmy ordered. Again Goddard passed the apparatus over Ernest and as the Jimmy watched the medical readings again decreased, apparently confirming his hypothesis. For the next several minutes Jimmy ran MRI scans on Ernest until at last Ernest's medical readings were close to normal for a 12-year-old. Despite the apparent success, however, Jimmy continued to monitor Ernest's readings for some time until he was satisfied that the danger was over. As he dropped into a nearby chair, emotionally drained, he heard someone calling his name.

"Jimmy?"

Jimmy looked over at Ernest. His eyes were open, and while he looked very tired he didn't seem to be in any discomfort. "Ernest? Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"Tired." He closed his eyes for a few seconds and Jimmy thought he had fallen asleep. Then his eyes opened and he gave Jimmy a weak smile. "I guess… should have believed you and…tried to find you earlier. Meant to but…the accident…"

"I know," Jimmy answered quietly. "You were willing to risk yourself to help someone else. That's what being a hero is, I guess." He hesitated, and then went on. "I'm afraid that Dyno Lad's career is over, though. I had to bleed off all the radiation that gave you your powers."

Ernest gave a wry smile. "S'okay. Always more around…Cindy…right…" Ernest's eyes closed again.

"Right?" Jimmy looked at Ernest in curiosity. "Right about what?"

"About…heroes…" Ernest's voice trailed off and his slow, even breathing told Jimmy that he had in fact fallen asleep. Deciding that letting him sleep was the best medicine for him Jimmy covered Ernest with a blanket and settled in a chair, intending to catch up on some experiments he had been forced to neglect for the past few days. Without realizing it he fell asleep as well.

When he woke some time later he looked at the wall clock showing Retroville time and was surprised to see that it was nearly 8:00 PM. He woke Ernest, who was still asleep, and offered to accompany him back to his house in case Ernest required substantiation for whatever he had to tell his parents about being gone all day. Ernest accepted the offer and together they walked the short distance to Ernest's house, with Ernest still yawning mightily as they went. When they arrived Ernest's parents were home and they welcomed Jimmy warmly. The also readily accepted the story that the two boys had been out all day doing "usual kid stuff".

"Yeah," Ernest yawned in conclusion. "It was quite a day. In fact, I don't mean to be rude, but I think I'm going to turn in and sleep for a week."

"By all means," fretted Mrs. Parker. "I'm glad you're having fun outside with your friends, but you mustn't overdo it. You know how frail you are."

"Now, now," said Ernest's father. "He's not a child anymore. Exercise is good for him. How do you expect him to be ready to chase any girls in a couple years?"

Mrs. Parker was firm. "Exercise is fine. But in moderation."

"Well, I won't argue the point tonight," said Ernest, heading for the stairs. "Good night all. And thanks, Jimmy." He paused and turned around. "Thanks for everything."

"Any time," Jimmy replied as Ernest disappeared up the stairs.

Mrs. Parker looked curiously at Jimmy as Mr. Parker moved to turn on the television. "Thanks for what, Jimmy?"

"Oh," Jimmy fumbled, "probably helping him to get to know some of the other kids. It's not easy being the new kid in town."

"Thunderation!" Mr. Parker called, startling both Jimmy and Mrs. Parker.

"What is it now?" Mrs. Parker asked, moving over to see what was going on.

Mr. Parker shook his head in disgust. "It's 8:00 and I wanted to watch the Classic Action Movie, but those reporters are still blathering on about that professor fellow downtown."

"That's no reason for bad language," his wife chided. "We have a guest. And those movies are always so violent."

Although he wasn't sure why Jimmy had a very bad feeling about what Mr. Parker was talking about, and he edged over to the television to see what had been so disturbing. The newscaster he had seen that morning was on the air, and her voice was charged with tension.

"…still not known how he managed to escape, but police appear unable now to stop him. In addition to a special harness – visible in this video image taken a short time ago – which appears to give him incredible strength, Professor Calamitous appears to also have some sort of weapon capable of short-circuiting electrical systems. It appears that this weapon was what permitted him to disable the protection systems at the Retroville Federal Reserve…"

_Professor Calamitous?_ thought Jimmy. _Here? _He suddenly became aware of Ernest's parents looking at him with some concern.

"Now, you see?" Mrs. Parker reproached her husband. "This sort of news is quite upsetting to sensitive young boys. Poor Jimmy looks ready to faint."

"No, really," Jimmy protested. "I'm okay…really." He nearly missed the newscaster's next words.

"…seeking vengeance against the city because of his defeat and capture here several days ago. No one has yet been hurt, but with officials helpless to stop him it may only be a matter of time before this becomes a tragedy of unprecedented magnitude. And now, as Professor Calamitous continues to rage unchecked through Retroville, the question on everyone's mind at this hour is, 'Where is Dyno Lad?'"

End of Part 11.


	12. Part 12 The Gathering Gloom

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 12:

Jimmy and the Parkers were not the only ones viewing the events in downtown Retroville. At the Candy Bar many of Jimmy's classmates were also watching the newscast on the TV set Sam had recently installed. With the advent of Dyno Lad Sam had (correctly) decided that the possibility of seeing a report of the hero's latest exploits would attract generate more business as Sam's youthful clientele stayed to watch and discuss Dyno Boy's adventures. Present were Sheen, Carl, Cindy, and Libby.

"I wonder what's keeping Dyno Lad?" Cindy worried aloud.

"Relax," Sheen reassured her. "If he doesn't show there's always Jimmy. And in the extremely unlikely event that Jimmy can't handle it, there's always Ultra Lord."

At the mention of Jimmy Libby gave a sniff of disdain. "As if there were anything Jimmy could do that Dyno Lad couldn't. That teen machine has it all going on. Oh, yeah."

"Well," said Carl timidly, "maybe if he had a llama sidekick and named it Carlito and taught it to fly –"

"No sidekicks!" Sheen interrupted sharply. "And especially no llamas named Carlito."

Carl seemed ready to cry. "That's what you said about a sidekick for Ultra Lord!" he accused Sheen. He clenched his fist and screamed towards the ceiling. "Don't take this dream from me, too!"

"Well," Sheen said thoughtfully, "it would be kind of cool if he had a teen partner skilled in the ancient and deadly oriental art of _origami_." He pantomimed a number of thrusts and kicks to demonstrate.

"Origami is paper folding, Sheen," Libby corrected him, causing Sheen to freeze. "Cindy gave a class report on it."

"Oh," was all Sheen could say. "Is that true, Cindy?"

Cindy ignored him, as she was on her cell phone speaking in low tones. After a few minutes she disconnected, looking worried. "What's up, Cindy?" asked Libby, who knew the look.

"Nothing," replied Cindy. "I was just seeing whether…nothing at all." She turned to the TV set, looking more worried than ever. _Where are you?_ she thought anxiously.

In downtown Retroville Calamitous continued his march along the upscale avenue, leaving a trail of destruction and ruin in his wake. As the newscaster had reported he was wearing a special harness that enhanced his abilities and he was using his increased strength to methodically smash into any building that might have something of suitable worth to add to his already sizable collection of loot. From time to time he would activate an alarm, but a blast from a device strapped to his arm would cause the electrical system of the alarm to overload in a shower of sparks, destroying it.

As he moved along the nearly deserted street police sharpshooters would occasionally fire from the rooftops as he passed, only to see brief winks of light appear near Professor Calamitous as the slugs impacted harmlessly against the invisible force field that surrounded him. Although the bullets could not possible hurt him, these attacks annoyed Calamitous enough for him to seize the nearest vehicle and hurl it at his assailant as a warning against any future attacks. His tactic seemed to be working, as fewer and fewer police were willing to attempt further attacks against him.

At the closest military base General Abercrombie was in close discussion with his aides about the situation. "Gentlemen," he said, "what is our current response to this attack?"

"Well, General," a young lieutenant answered, "we have a high-altitude reconnaissance craft keeping an eye on him."

"And?"

"Well, that's pretty much it." Prompted by the glare from the general the unhappy officer pressed on. "Sir, he's in a highly populated area. Any weapon powerful enough to take him out would potentially result in a great deal of collateral damage. A lot of innocent civilians could be killed or wounded."

The general was puzzled. "What's your point?" He spread his hands. "They're our own people, for crying out loud. It's not as though we'd start a war or something."

"Well, sir, the Commander-in-Chief would need to authorize action of that type. And I doubt that he or the public would be happy to see civilians injured, even eliminating a threat of this magnitude."

The general growled. "Confounded civilians. You'd think that they were running the military."

Another aide coughed hesitantly. "Technically, sir, they do. The Constitution was set up to ensure that war and other military action was a considered decision and that peace was the norm."

General Abercrombie struck the conference table with his fist in frustration. "Wild blue yonder!" he roared. "When will people ever learn that peace_ just doesn't work?_"

Back in Retroville the situation continued to erode. A dozen stores and banks were already in ruins and Professor Calamitous showed no signs of ending his rampage through the city. Several dozen blocks away, where officials had ordered all civilians, the newscaster continued her dogged report of the evil scientist's wanton destruction as the cameraman alternated between close-up shots of her despondent face and telephoto images of Calamitous in the gathering twilight.

"We have just received word that the military is awaiting approval for any show of force against Professor Calamitous due to the close proximity of civilian installations and personnel, and that the police are suspending their own attacks to consider their options. At this point, however –" She was interrupted by a loud explosion, like a crack of thunder, and a gust of wind that caused paper and dust to swirl around her. A professional to the end, the reporter struggled to maintain her composure. "It seems that bad weather is also moving in now, making a bad situation…even…worse…"

Her voice trailed off as she turned to watch what her cameraman was following up in the air. Travelling down the street, several stories in the air, a crimson streak was moving towards the scene of Professor Calamitous' latest break-in, its deceleration from supersonic speed having created the sonic boom and its related turbulence. The streak slowed rapidly and took the form of a young figure in a bright red costume. The camera zoomed in dizzyingly to maximum magnification, capturing the sight of a scarlet figure with an incongruously large head hovering perhaps a dozen feet in the air outside the jewelry store, his arms folded determinedly across his chest.

"Professor," he challenged, "would you care to step outside?"

Back in the Candy Bar elated cheers erupted from the crowd at the appearance of Dyno Lad.

"Oh, boy!" crowed Sheen, leaning forward excitedly and rubbing his hands with delight. "This is gonna be good!"

End of Part 12.

Author's Notes:

In the sequel _Superman II_ the best part of the movie, to me at least, was the return of the re-energized hero to Metropolis to take on General Zod and his cronies. No doubt a number of readers will recognize the allusions in this chapter.


	13. Part 13 In Darkest Night

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 13:

Hovering outside the demolished façade of the shopJimmy wished he felt as confident as he sounded. When he first formulated this plan it had seemed the best course of action, but now, waiting for Professor Calamitous to respond, a hundred doubts gnawed at his mind. If the evil genius suspected for even a second who he really was and used his electrical demolition weapon, it would be all over. As long as Calamitous was convinced that he was confronting Dyno Lad and relied only his enhanced physical abilities Jimmy had a fighting chance. Even so, Jimmy had not had much time to prepare his own offensive and defensive systems and there was no guarantee that his equipment would be a match for the professor's.

An annoyingly familiar (or was it familiarly annoying?) voice interrupted his thoughts. "Well, well," it said. "If it isn't the superhero. I had hoped to run into you before I took my leave. In fact, I took special pains to dress…umm…umm…"

"'Like a dork'?" suggested Jimmy. In the grainy television view that Jimmy had seen Calamitous had looked vaguely menacing, but up close in the glow of the streetlights now coming on he merely looked ridiculous. To Jimmy it looked as though the little man had strapped on something that looked like a cross between a vacuum cleaner and an octopus.

"Laugh all you want," Calamitous sneered. "But my cyber-augmentation suit is more than a match for your superhuman abilities. No longer will the world mock and deride Professor Calamitous. Now there is only – the Amazing Cyber-Man!"

Jimmy gave Calamitous a scornful look. "Oh, yes. Mocking and deriding the Amazing Cyber-Man is going to be so much more fulfilling."

Calamitous growled. "All right, so the name needs work. Once I've turned Retroville into rubble I can come up with something better."

"You don't fool me, Calamitous. Everyone knows that you never finished anything in your life and you aren't starting now. I'll bet that you didn't even invent that suit or that electronic gun you're wearing."

"Well, true enough," the professor admitted. "Actually my daughter got them for me for a Father's Day present. Picked it up at a military research base, I believe. The electro-regeneration gun was quite a surprise. It produces regenerative feedback in any electrical system causing the system to overload and destroy itself. I was actually quite pleased. Usually her taste in presents is…well, not tacky, exactly, but…"

"Enough talk, Calamitous!"

"That's Cyber-Man. I remember your name, so the least you can do is remember mine."

Jimmy shook his head in disgust. "Whatever. Surrender or face the consequences!"

"What?" Calamitous looked shocked. "Consequences? Oh, my goodness. When you put it that way I'm absolutely ashamed of myself." His face brightened as he stepped forward. "I'll tell you what. Let's start off again on the right foot. Instead of fighting, how about playing a nice game?"

Jimmy was momentarily put off by the suggestion. "Game?" he said suspiciously, trying to figure out the catch.

"Yes. How about…" Calamitous suddenly seized a car near the curb and hurled it at Jimmy. "Dodge!" Caught unaware by the surprise maneuver Jimmy was driven backwards into the building across the street, where he was buried by the crumpled vehicle.

"It's about time," commented Sheen, back at the Candy Bar. "I was beginning to think that nothing was going to happen."

"Oh my mistake," said Professor Calamitous as Jimmy slowly crawled from beneath the wreckage. "That one was a Ford." He hefted a pickup truck and threw it with all his might just as Jimmy got free of the car, again burying Jimmy. "That was a Dodge."

The servos in Jimmy's harness beneath the Dyno Lad costume whined in protest as Jimmy shoved the truck off him. There was no question that Calamitous' suit was more powerful. Even through his force field he had felt the impact of both attacks more than he had thought he would, and Calamitous had not seemed to strain when hefting the truck that had pushed Jimmy's suit to its limits. Given enough time Jimmy could have devised something equally effective, but there was no chance now for that. If the battle continued much longer they would have to scrape Dyno Lad off the sidewalk with a spatula.

"Not getting tired yet, are you?" Calamitous taunted. "The party's just starting."

"In that case," Jimmy muttered, ramping the power of his hover shoes to maximum, "let's have some punch!" Almost faster than the eye could follow he rocketed across the street at Calamitous, slamming into him like a scarlet missile and driving him back through the brick facing of an office building. In front of television sets all through the Retroville area viewers gave impromptu cheers and calls of encouragement. Their elation was short-lived, however, when a crimson streak exploded back out through the wall. It struck a streetlight, bending the pole in half, and fell limply to the ground as Calamitous emerged from the new opening in the wall, flexing an arm.

"Maybe I don't really understand this," said Carl hesitantly, "but isn't Dyno Lad supposed to be winning?"

"Maybe Professor Calamitous is too much for him this time," Libby suggested.

"Bite your tongue!" snapped Cindy, not taking her eyes from the screen. Even so she looked worried, and was biting her lower lip. "He'll find a way…somehow."

At the scene of the battle Jimmy wasn't so sure of that. He was now convinced that physically he was outmatched and that he wouldn't be able to beat the professor with brute force. If he was going to win it would have to be with his brain. But how? As he staggered back to his feet he looked up and down the street, desperately searching for inspiration. There were the usual offices, a café, a bookstore, a gym, a clothing store, a bank, a –

Wait a minute. That was it! It could work. It _had_ to work. At this point, he didn't really have any choice. Straightening up, he limped towards Professor Calamitous, his fists clenched. "All right, Cyber-Man, or whatever you want to call yourself," he said. "You want a piece of me? Okay, give me your best shot!" He positioned himself carefully, placing himself in a direct line between Calamitous and his intended destination.

"Oh, no," the professor replied in politely mocking tones. "Women and children first. I insist." He stuck his chin out, confident of his superiority. "Indulge yourself."

"Don't mind if I do," Jimmy answered civilly and swung with all the power he cold muster from his failing systems. It was a good blow, and the force of it caused Calamitous to stagger back a step or two before he could regain his balance.

"Not bad," he admitted. "Pity it wasn't good enough. My turn now." With little wind-up he slammed his fist into Jimmy, so fast that Jimmy couldn't have avoided the punch even if he had wanted to. He flew backwards like he had been shot from a cannon, crashing through the glass door of the gym and smashing into one of the many mirrors that lined the walls of the exercise area. Only his force field saved him from the serious cuts and bruises he would have undoubtedly sustained otherwise. He got back to his feet just as Professor Calamitous followed him in.

"Not down…yet…" was all Jimmy could manage.

"No. But the night is still young," his enemy replied. As Jimmy struggled to stay erect the professor grabbed a weight machine and swung it down on top of Jimmy, knocking the boy down and pinning him beneath it. Jimmy struggled to push it off him, but his position didn't give him enough leverage to break free of it quickly. After a few seconds of struggling he slumped back, exhausted. Calamitous considered his helpless captive and strolled almost casually to a rack of free weights.

"Don't go away…yet…" panted Jimmy. "I still…have a lot…of fight…left…" With a great effort one of his hands crawled slowly towards the waistband of the Dyno Lad costume. It was now or never.

Calamitous hefted the heaviest of the barbells like a baseball bat. "Not for long, I should think. It's been almost enjoyable. A pity that Neutron wasn't here. I should like to have finished him off as well, but I expect that he'll turn up eventually. He just can't seem to stop himself when people are in trouble. That's what ultimately makes him just another loser."

"No," Jimmy grimaced. His fingers touched the small object he had placed in the inner pouch of the costume's waistband. "That's what makes people…heroes…"

"Whatever," the professor answered, sounding bored. "But no sense putting this off any longer. Time to crush you like a…umm…umm…"

"Eggshell?" Jimmy said, playing for time. He almost had it loose.

"Mmm…smaller."

"Grape?" He only needed another second or two.

"Living," Calamitous prompted.

"Bug?" Quietly Jimmy pressed the button of the device.

"Yes! Exactly! Bug!" Professor Calamitous lifted the barbell above his head, preparing to bring it down with terribly finality on Jimmy's head, heedless of a shape that shimmered into existence behind him. "Do you have any last words?"

"No," Jimmy replied, almost calmly. "But he might have."

Calamitous blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Professor Calamitous," a familiar and scornful voice said behind him. "Don't you ever get tired of being beaten?"

Forgetting Dyno Lad for the moment Calamitous turned to stare at Jimmy, wearing a sneer and a harness somewhat similar to that worn by Calamitous. "Neutron," the professor spat.

"You might as well surrender," Jimmy said. "Anything your suit can do mine can do better, and you know it."

"Not everything," snarled Calamitous.

"It's time to put up or shut up," the figure before Calamitous challenged.

"Gladly!" As quick as a cat the professor brought his right arm up, firing a beam of energy at the boy before him. The boy seemed to ripple as the beam passed through him, struck a mirror on the wall behind him, and rebounded back to envelope the professor. The results were immediate and fascinating. The professor's equipment began to spark and smoke as the professor jerked helplessly about as though he were a puppet on a maniac's strings. This went on for several seconds before the last of Calamitous' electronic circuits overloaded and died, leaving the professor, blackened, smoldering, and swaying gently. "Oh, monkey muffins," was all he could manage before he slipped to his knees and then toppled forward onto his face on the padded floor, unconscious.

It was over.

With a sigh Jimmy shut off the holocorder, causing the 3-dimensional image of himself, still challenging Calamitous, to dissolve into nothingness. No longer distracted by his enemy's menacing presence Jimmy painfully maneuvered himself into a position where the waning power of his augmentation suit could move the weight machine off him. After resting for a few seconds he gripped the would-be Cyber-Man by the collar and began dragging him towards the shattered remains of the door.

"It has been some minutes since Dyno Lad and Professor Calamitous entered the gymnasium," the newswoman was saying on the television. "When they entered Dyno Lad seemed to be getting the worst of it, but…"

"Getting the worst of it?" questioned Sheen. "I'd say he was getting his bootie kicked."

"Shut up," Cindy growled.

"Ditto that," agreed Libby.

"Wait a minute…there seems to be some activity now…" The reporter paused as she peered at the faint images on her own monitor. "It's too far away to see very clearly…but it looks like…yes…Danny, can you get a clearer picture?" The image sharpened and enlarged slightly, showing the a large-headed figure dragging a second limp form from the smashed building. "Yes it is…ladies and gentlemen, the battle is over. Dyno Lad has once again saved the day!" As the camera showed the Retroville police moving in and Dyno Lad flying off into the night sky she continued, rather needlessly, "Thank you, Dyno Lad, whoever you are."

"You can say that again," put in Cindy.

"Word that," agreed Libby.

"You know it, girlfriend," added Carl.

"And how," concluded Sheen. "Now, who's up for the Ultra Lord show?"

End of Part 13.


	14. Part 14 Some Enchanted Evening

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 14:

Cindy walked slowly along the street to her home, lost in her thoughts about the events of the evening. Some of those thoughts weren't very pleasant, and while she didn't want to deal with them she realized that she really had no choice but to face up to them. She paused at the walkway leading to her house and with a shrug of resignation turned to cross the street, heading for the Neutron residence. As she drew nearer she stopped in bewilderment at the sight of a shadowy figure dropping slowly from the sky into the shadows to the side of the Neutron's garage. Hesitantly she stepped forward, calling out, "Dyno Lad?"

Concealed in the shadows Jimmy froze, wondering what to do. Battered, bruised, and bone-weary from his ordeal he had not paid much attention to his surroundings during his flight home. If he spoke with her she might discover who he really was, and she would never believe that he disguised himself as Dyno Lad for all the right reasons. On the other hand, if he left without saying anything he would undoubtedly arouse Cindy's suspicions. He decided to take a chance, hoping that the darkness and grime of battle would keep her from recognizing him. "Yes."

Cindy moved closer, stopping just a few steps away from him. "What are you doing here?"

"I…I had to return something to Jimmy Neutron." He held out the holocorder in the palm of his hand. "He thought this might help me."

Cindy looked at the holocorder with some surprise and then back at the dark shape before her. "Did it?"

"Yes. But Jimmy isn't in. Would you give it back to him for me? And tell him thanks for me? Please?"

Puzzled, Cindy took the small gadget. "Yes, of course. I'd do anything for you. But you can always give it to him tomorrow." Jimmy's next words stunned her.

"No. I can't." The next words came harder than he had expected. "I'm…not coming back."

The words seemed to make no sense to Cindy. "What?"

Jimmy tried again. "I have to go away. Forever."

"But…" Cindy tried hard to understand, but failed. "But why?"

Jimmy took a deep breath. "It's not easy to explain, but I was never meant to have the powers I had. It was just a mistake that I ever got them." He hung his head. "Dyno Lad was just an accident. And now I have to correct that."

"No. You're wrong." Something in Cindy's voice made Jimmy look up and she continued. "Maybe your powers were a mistake. Maybe it was an accident that you got them. But who you are isn't an accident. The first day you came to Retroville you saved my life. Over the past week you've put yourself in danger time and again to help others. And tonight…" Cindy paused a moment to steady her voice. "Most of all, tonight you went alone to fight against Professor Calamitous even when we could all see that you didn't have much of a chance. Those weren't accidents. You were a hero. And being a hero is never an accident." Her voice took on a pleading tone. "You were the best thing that ever happened to us. And now, after all that, you're just going to turn your back on everyone and leave us like it was all nothing."

For one of the rare times in his life Jimmy found himself at a loss for the right words as.he thought about that. What Cindy had said about Dyno Lad was absolutely true. Dyno Lad had been a hero. Ernest had made him a hero, and despite the terrific battle that Jimmy had fought tonight it would be a lie of sorts to say that he had fought and won it. Dyno Lad had really won the battle. And what had had done was something, he realized, that no one could ever know. No one could ever know that it had been Jimmy who saved the day. It would be a betrayal of everything that Ernest had tried to make Dyno Lad stand for.

."You said I was a hero," he said at last. "And if you believe that then you have to believe me when I say this is something I have to do. Because being a hero is more than wearing a flashy costume, or having special powers, or even fighting the bad guys." His voice sank to nearly a whisper. "It means doing what's best for everyone, even when your heart begs you not to. I hope you understand."

Cindy shook her head sadly. "No. I don't." For a few moments she stood there silently, staring down at the ground. Then she looked up, stepped closer, and reached out for Jimmy's cowl. Jimmy, realizing what she intended, stepped back, shaking his head.

"No," he said.

Cindy pulled her hand back, looking hurt. "But why?" she asked. "If you're not going to be Dyno Lad anymore, why won't you let me know who you are?"

Jimmy shook his head. "Because if – when – we meet again, I want whatever you may feel to be because of who I really am, and not just because of who I may have been."

Cindy nodded sadly. "I think I understand." _But it doesn't mean that I like it_, she told herself.

"I hope so." Jimmy turned to leave. "You'll be sure to tell Jimmy thanks? And everyone else good-bye?"

"I'll tell them," Cindy promised hoarsely. "But there's something I have to tell you before you go."

Jimmy paused. "What's that?"

In answer he felt Cindy's hand on his shoulder turning him around, and then the gentle touch of her hands on the sides of his face and the soft press of her warm lips against his. For half a second he felt astonishment, as much from the kiss itself as the absence of the gag reflex he had always imagined would accompany kissing Cindy. Then the astonishment passed, and for a timeless moment everything else faded as Cindy's tender caress and the feel of her in his arms became his whole existence.

He could never recall afterwards who pulled away first. All he would recall was the pain of turning away from her afterwards and then drifting away into the sky, leaving Cindy standing tearfully behind. Cindy watched his silhouette against the bright starlit canopy above her until he disappeared behind a stand of tall trees in the distance.

"I will find you," she whispered to the star-filled sky. "Someday."

End of Part 14.

Author's Notes:

I had originally intended to leave the identify of "Dyno Lad" during the fight with Calamitous a secret, but decided that it would be fairly obvious that it was Jimmy and not Ernest battling the professor and that it would also tend to dilute the events in this chapter somewhat. I had also intended to include this chapter as part of the epilogue (coming up next…at last) but decided that it and the epilogue would be more effective standing on their own. Hopefully the readers will agree once all is done.


	15. Epilog The NeverEnding Battle

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night

by Gary D. Snyder

Epilog:

Jimmy slept most of the following day, physically exhausted from his battle with Professor Calamitous and emotionally spent from his parting wth Cindy. After flying off he had remained secluded in some distant trees and had not descended until he had watched her go into her house. Once on the ground he had quickly removed the costume of Dyno Lad and his power harness and stored them safely in his lab before finally turning in. When he finally woke late the next afternoon he moved stiffly downstairs and settled in to watch some television, too sore to do anything else. He had just managed to find a relatively painless position when the phone rang. As neither of his parents were home he slowly unfolded, shambled over to the telephone, and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" he said.

"Jimmy?" he heard Libby's voice say.

"Last time I checked. What's up?"

"Listen, could you come to the Candy Bar right away?" Libby's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "It's Cindy. I think you should talk to her."

"What about?" Jimmy asked.

"You'll see when you get here. And hurry."

Jimmy sighed and hung up. In his condition he'd never be able to walk the distance, and his hovercraft was still in pieces. With a grunt of resignation he shuffled to his room, found his hovershoes under the bed, and headed outside.

At the Candy Bar most of the kids from school were hanging out. Sheen, Carl, and Libby were sharing a booth, with Sheen reading aloud from a comic book. Since Dyno Lad's appearance comic books were no longer considered juvenile, and half the kids present were engaged in perusing a brightly-colored magazine. As Sheen read, Carl cringed in growing fright.

"'I knew then'," he recited, "'that I had fallen into a strange and terrible world, where reason and logic had no place and madness ruled. And I also knew that if I remained much longer, I too would go completely…and irrevocably…_insane_.'" Sheen spoke the last word with relish.

"Stop it, Sheen!" Carl screamed, covering his head with his arms and shrinking down into the bench. "You're going to give me nightmares!"

"Yeah, Sheen, knock it off," Libby scolded. "What kind of monster comic are you reading to Carl anyway?"

Sheen displayed the cover of the comic book. "_Teen Romance_," he replied, "as told from the point of view of the guy, for once."

"And it's horrible!" wailed Carl from somewhere under the table.

As Libby punched Sheen on the arm she glanced over at the soda counter. On a stool by herself Cindy sat with her head down and a half-finished Purple Flurp before her. As the music from the jukebox came to an end she reached into her pocket and tossed a quarter on the counter. "Play it again, Sam," she said dully.

Sam tried to reason with her. "Listen, Cindy, you've been here a long time. Maybe you should –"

"If they can take it, I can. Play it!"

With a hopeless shake of his head Sam walked over to the jukebox, inserted the coin, and punched a button. As he returned to his duties at the fountain the strains of "Hero" began to play.

__

You're the idol of the masses, their legend of the day,

But idols often fall and legends always fade away.

You've always stood for many truths no one could ever doubt.

But could you be the hero that I've always dreamt about?

Each never-ending battle leaves you battered but unbowed,

Your public cheers each victory with voices strong and proud.

You've earned their admiration and you've always had their love.

But would you be the hero that I'm always thinking of?

Don't fight my battles, I can win them.

Don't try to keep me safe from harm.

Send thoughts of love and keep me in them.

Your love will see me through each storm.

Truth and justice always were more than mere words to you.

You've never failed to do the things that you were born to do.

To everyone you meet it seems you're everything and more

But will you be the hero that I've long been praying for?

As the song faded away again and Cindy was fishing for another quarter she heard a familiar voice. "Cindy?"

Cindy looked up, her face expressionless. "Neutron."

Jimmy sat on the stool next to her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing you'd understand. Someone I cared a lot about left and couldn't tell me when he'd be back." She reached into her pocket and set Jimmy's holocorder in front of him. "He told me to give you this and to tell you thanks and good-bye."

Jimmy picked up the holocorder and pocketed it. "You mean Dyno Lad."

Cindy nodded wordlessly.

"Look, Cindy," Jimmy said soothingly, "If Dyno Lad left it must have been important. I didn't know him that well but I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you."

"I'm not hurt. I understand that he felt he had to go."

Jimmy was baffled. "Then why are you so down?"

Cindy looked at him with an expression that Jimmy couldn't quite interpret. "Because I'm disappointed." Seeing his puzzled look, she added , "At you."

"Me?"

Cindy looked down at the counter. "Yes, you. Last night when Calamitous was trashing Retroville and everyone was wondering where Dyno Lad was, part of me believed that you'd be the one to show up and put a stop to him. I even called your house to see if you knew about what was happening, but all your parents knew was that you had gone out somewhere with Ernest. Then Dyno Lad finally showed up, and nearly got killed fighting Calamitous. He tried to make it seem like it was no big deal, but I could tell he almost didn't succeed. And all I could think was that maybe if you'd been there to help him that it would have gone a lot differently. And now I wonder if maybe you'd been there to help whether he wouldn't have left."

Jimmy had listened open-mouthed during Cindy's speech. "Listen, Cindy, if I could have been there, I would have. I wish you could believe that."

"So do I." She took a swallow of her drink. "You know, Neutron, despite the things I say about you sometimes I always believed that you'd come through for us when things looked bad." She stopped and wiped her eyes with the edge of her hand in a futile attempt to hide the fact that she was on the verge of tears. "And when people trust you that much, it hurts when you let them down." She was crying softly now. "Do you understand what it means when people trust you that much?"

Jimmy stared at Cindy, his thoughts swirling, not sure how to respond. "I guess it means," he replied mechanically, "doing what's best for everyone, even when your heart begs you not to."

Cindy turned away, not caring about an answer she hadn't really expected to receive. "Just go away," she said miserably.

Numbly Jimmy stood up and headed for the door, passing Ernest who had just come in and not hearing Ernest's friendly greeting. Puzzled, Ernest headed over to the counter where Cindy was sitting. Cindy reached for her Purple Flurp and had it halfway to her mouth when Jimmy's words sank in and she froze. _Doing what's best…?_ she thought. She spun on her stool and caught sight of Jimmy in the doorway as he was exiting. For an instant she saw him against the bright afternoon sunlight and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of his silhouette. Then he turned and was gone.

"Hey, Cindy," a voice behind her said.

Cindy half-turned and turned back towards the door again. "Hi, Ernest."

"You look like you just saw a ghost."

"No. No…I thought that I saw someone I knew. Excuse me a minute." She slipped off her stool and ran to the door, and Ernest, filled with curiosity, followed her. Outside the door Cindy looked down the street in the direction Jimmy had gone but saw no one. Then, on a hunch, she looked up into the air, shading her eyes against the late afternoon glare. Ernest followed her gaze and saw a small shape disappearing in the direction of Jimmy's house. As he looked back into Cindy's face he understood that there was really no need for a hero like Dyno Lad in her life. Cindy had found one long ago.

_I will find you_, she promised herself. _Someday._

So that's my story. Dyno Lad wasn't around long, but he was around long enough to me to understand what being a hero can mean. The power to make a difference. The responsibility to do so. The adoration of thousands, and no one ever knowing who you are.

That's the blessing. That's the curse.

So, who am I?

I'm Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.

THE END


End file.
